Ghosts in Kanto
by Damiar
Summary: Three friends set out from Pallet Town to follow in Red's footsteps and one day be the Kanto League Champion, but a new organization called Team Specter threatens the region with dark and sinister plans.
1. Pallet Town

—**1—  
**_Pallet Town_**  
****JOSH**

The sun rose and cast a golden glow over Pallet Town. Josh lived with his mom and little brother in the house furthest south, closest to the beach. He positioned his bed along the eastern wall of the loft and left his curtains open on purpose the night before. As he hoped, the sunlight poured through his window and woke him up well before his alarm.

"No," he mumbled aloud, throwing the covers of his head. "Wait!"

In a whirlwind he kicked the blanket free and moved to his dresser where his special outfit for this special day waited for him. Black jean shorts, a white tank top with rainbow design, running shoes, high socks, and a red plaid shirt to tie around his waist. His official Indigo League cap came in the mail the night before. Most were red and white with the emblem embroidered in green, but his mom special-ordered one for him. This one was all black, and the emblem was embroidered in deep violet thread.

Tugging the hat over his mess of dirty blond bedhead, Josh gave his appearance one more look. Blue eyes shining bright, he turned and took the stairs three at a time, tripped, and ended up rolling into his brother Nick with a crash. Still in his pajamas, his little brother gnashed his teeth as he stood. He looked like a shorter, younger version of Josh.

"Watch where you're going!"

"Get out of my way," Josh snapped. "I got places to be."

He bolted for the door but his mom reached out and caught him by the belt. Her vice grip on his britches kept him from moving another inch. Taller than Josh by only a few inches, his mother possessed a surprising strength to hold him in place.

"Slow down before you hurt yourself or someone else," she scolded, her eyes alight like blue fire. She brushed her layered brown-and-blonde hair behind her ears with her free hand. "Apologize to your brother and sit down to eat breakfast."

"Sorry, Nick!" Josh called out, not even bothering to give him a glance. "I don't have time for breakfast! I have to get to Professor Oak's lab before Tanner and Caleb get there."

"You're eating breakfast!"

His mom dragged him by the ear and sat him down at the table where a stack of pancakes and a glass of milk waited for him. Rather than fight with her, Josh covered his breakfast in maple syrup, gobbled it down, and chugged the milk.

"Okay!" he announced. "Leaving now! Bye!"

Before he could reach the door, his mother grabbed him again, this time in a fierce, motherly embrace. His demeanor softened as he turned to return the hug. There were tears in her eyes when he looked up to meet her gaze.

"I know all boys leave home eventually, but I'm still sad to see you go."

"Mom," he complained. "I'll come back and visit, I promise."

"You'll be in good hands with Caleb; he's so responsible. But the idea of you traveling the region with Tanner makes me nervous. Don't let him get you into any trouble, you hear me?"

"We'll be fine," Josh said. "I love you, I'll miss you, and can I please go now?"

"Go! Get your first Pokémon but promise me you'll come back before you leave Pallet Town; I have a present for you."

"A present!" Josh raised his eyebrows in curious delight. "Can't you give it to me now?"

"Look!" Nick said, looking out the kitchen window. "Tanner's already on his way to Professor Oak's lab! Better hurry or he'll pick the Pokémon you want!"

Josh turned to growl at his brother before he finally cleared the threshold of his house and stepped into the bright morning air. Sunny, with only a few clouds, he could not have asked for a better day to start his adventure. His front porch offered a tremendous view of the beach and ocean outstretched towards the horizon. He caught sight of some wild Wingull flying overhead, squawking in unharmonious chorus. He ran and leapt down all four stairs, using the momentum to continue his stride to the white wooden gate at the end of his yard.

"Meowth!"

His family pet yowled at him on his way out, but Josh ignored him. The cantankerous old cat loved his mom and brother but always left Josh with bright red scratches if he so much as looked in his direction. He was an outside cat and worked to chase the wild Rattata away; they liked to get into his mom's berry garden.

Josh lived closest to the lab of the three boys, and while he could see Tanner booking it down the hill from his house on the other side of town, he'd never reach the lab first. A victorious smile of elation parted Josh's lips as he opened the double doors and stepped into the lab. Scientific equipment manned by research aides filled the first section. As he hoped, Professor Oak waited in the back behind shelves filled with books and binders.

"Good morning, Professor!"

"Josh! Good morning! You're early."

"You said whoever arrives first gets to pick first, right? So, I'll take my Squirtle now."

"I did say that, didn't I?" Professor Oak chuckled. His smiled crinkled his eyes and he ran his fingers through his blond-gray hair. Dressed in a lab coat over a maroon button-up and khakis, Samuel Oak looked exactly like one might imagine a Pokémon professor would. He shot a bushy-eyebrowed glance at the table to his left and Josh followed his gaze. Three Pokéballs waited on display like fruit ripening on a tree, just waited to be plucked. Absentmindedly, Josh walked with hand outstretched for the one he knew contained Squirtle.

"Let's wait until the others get here," Professor Oak interjected. "I know you're eager to start your adventure, but there's some things I need to go over before you boys set out. I'd rather not repeat myself; I'm a busy man, you know."

Josh deflated and took a step back, eyes glued to the entrance in anticipation for Tanner to come bursting through the door. While he only had to wait about forty-five seconds or so, it seemed like an eternity before his friend finally caught up.

"Took you long enough!" Josh called out.

"Nice to see you too!" Tanner shot back. He was tall for his age, taller than Professor Oak. Dressed in blue jean cut-offs, a black t-shirt with an Oshawott's face printed on it, sturdy leather boots coming to the shin, and a custom Indigo League hat. His was blue and white with a pink emblem. Josh rolled his eyes. He had hoped to be the only one of them to get a custom hat, but he supposed he shouldn't have been surprised.

"Good morning, Tanner!"

"Morning, Prof! Did you hear a romp of Oshawott migrated from Unova and made their home at the Seafoam Islands right here in Kanto?"

"I did! It's an exciting prospect to think of all the species migrating to one region or another around the world. Decades ago, we only had one hundred and fifty-one in ours."

_Boring._

Josh tuned out while he and Tanner talked about how sea otter Pokémon from the Unova region acted as the water starter for new young trainers there. Eyes glued to the Pokéball with the one he wanted, he found himself checking his phone every thirty seconds or so.

_Come on, Caleb! Where are you?_

The doors to the lab opened once more. Caleb, taller than Josh but shorter than Tanner, walked in with a backpack strapped to his back. His hat was the classic red-and-white with a green emblem on the front. He wore a gray t-shirt with a Noctowl print, dark blue jeans, and black hiking boots. His black and red backpack look stuffed to the max.

"Good morning, Professor Oak!" Caleb greeted. Josh wanted to be mad at him for making him wait, but something about his big brown eyes and charming smile kept his impatience at bay.

_He's worth the wait._

"You're late," Josh blurted.

Caleb raised an eyebrow and checked his phone. "I'm five minutes early."

"That's like a million years late in Pokémon trainer time!"

"Maybe if the two of you would stop bickering like an old married couple, the Professor could give us his speech, let us pick our starters, and send us on our way!" Tanner interjected.

This put a stop to the back-and-forth sass and provoked a chuckle from the Professor. He smoothed his coat, put on his glasses, and reached into his pocket for some index cards. Josh found it hard to believe the man didn't have it memorized considering how many times he'd said it over the years.

"Hello there! Welcome to the world of Pokémon! My name is Oak! People call me the Pokémon Prof! This world is inhabited by creatures called Pokémon! For some people, Pokémon are pets. Others use them for fights. Myself...I study Pokémon as a profession…"

The lack of sleep and sheer boredom of having to wait tugged like weights at Josh's eyelids as he nodded off a few times. Caleb gave him a hard jab to the ribs at the last one. Josh gave him a dirty look but he replied with a smile and a wink. Like magic, the anger faded as the professor finished his speech.

"…it's a dangerous world out there to travel alone. That's why I'm gifting each of you a starter Pokémon. There are three of them and three of you. As I promised, the boy who arrived first today gets to pick first. Go ahead, Josh."

Having waited for this moment his entire life, Josh reached out and snagged the ball with Squirtle. Emotions he did not expect came roiling up inside him as he held it in his hands. To think his very first of many Pokémon companions lived inside this tiny ball blew his mind. All he needed to do was press the button, toss the ball, and out he'd come.

_Or she._

He checked the stats on the console where the ball once stood on display. His Squirtle was male, but most were. He was delighted to find out that his Pokémon possessed a rare ability: Rain Dish. Rather than blurt it out in his excitement to his friends (and soon-to-be rivals) he kept it to himself and took a step back to give Tanner his chance.

"You had first choice and you didn't choose Charmander?!" Tanner exclaimed. With wild laughter, he rushed up and snagged the PokéBall with the famous fire starter so popular among new, young trainers. "It's female! How lucky! Hey, Caleb! What does "hidden ability solar power" mean?"

"It means on a bright, sunny day like today, your Charmander's special attacks will pack an extra wallop," Caleb replied. "Right, Professor?"

"Right you are, Caleb!"

Caleb walked up and plucked the PokéBall with Bulbasaur. He did so with a smile, but Josh knew from many talks and many sleepover parties Caleb had his heart set on Squirtle. After doing what he called "extensive research" he determined the best competitive choice for the Kanto region. He cited source after source and convinced Josh a thousand times over. Caleb wanted to be a Pokémon Professor someday, not a league champion; Josh needed Squirtle if he was going to reach his goals. Caleb could make do with Bulbasaur and catch a good water Pokémon—of that Josh had no doubt.

"A male with the hidden ability chlorophyll," Caleb announced. "He'll make a good battle partner for your Charmander."

"What does chlorophyll do?" Tanner asked, scratching his head.

"The speed of Pokémon with the chlorophyll ability doubles on a bright sunny day."

"Sounds like you've been doing a lot of studying, Caleb," Professor Oak praised. "You'll do well at the Pokémon University when the time comes."

"They changed the rules this year," Caleb said. "There's no longer an age requirement, so all I have to do is make an appointment to take the placement test."

"Which campus do you plan to attend? Celadon? Saffron?"

"Cinnabar Island," Caleb said with a smile.

"What about us?" Josh demanded. "You told me you were going with me and Tanner all the way to the Indigo League!"

"I did," Caleb replied, "and I am. It's never too early to plan for the future."

"Well, can we plan for the immediate future and get out of here?" Josh pressed.

"Always in such a hurry," Tanner said with a tsk-tsk. "You need to learn to stop and smell the roses once in a while."

"I'll stop and smell the roses once my name is in the Hall of Fame," Josh countered. "Let's go already!"

"North of here is Route 1 and Viridian City. I'm expecting a package to arrive at the Item Shop there. If one of you boys wouldn't mind picking it up for me and delivering it here I'll make it worth your while."

Josh let out his frustration in a demonstrative huff. The idea of traveling miles up the road only to turn around and come home sounded terrible. He liked Professor Oak, but couldn't he send one of his aides to do it?

"You can count on us, Professor!" Tanner said.

"Speak for yourself," Josh muttered under his breath.

By the time the three of them left the lab, Josh was ready to head north and hit the tall grass. Any wild Pokémon daring enough to pounce on him could look forward to facing his Squirtle in battle and helping to make him stronger.

"We ready, boys?" Tanner asked, throwing one arm over Josh's shoulder and the other over Caleb's. He squeezed them with rough affection and let out a hoot of elation.

"I've got to make a quick stop by my house before we go," Josh said.

"Really?" Caleb complained. "You were in such a hurry to get going and now you have to go home?"

"That's why I wanted to get going," Josh snapped. "It won't take long. Come on; you can wait for me outside."

He jogged to his house, not bothering to see if Tanner and Caleb followed. Meowth tried to rub against his leg, yowling for attention. When Josh failed to reciprocate, the nasty cat let loose with Fury Swipes at his leg but missed.

"Stupid cat!"

"Don't be mean to him," Tanner called out. He turned his attention to Meowth, speaking to him in affectionate baby-talk. "He's just a widdle-wuv-bug, isn't he?"

Rolling his eyes, Josh opened the front door of his house and found his mom and brother sitting at the kitchen table waiting for him. A box wrapped in colorful, polka-dot patterned paper waited for him.

"Who'd you pick?" Nick asked.

"Squirtle! Who'd you think I'd pick?"

"Just like your dad," his mom said, beaming. "He'd be so proud of you."

Josh's dad died a few years ago. He missed him terribly and it still pained him to think about it, but he liked to hear his mom say things like that. His eyes moved to the wall where pictures covered most of the space. There were photos of his parents' wedding, the day he was born, the day Nick was born, and lots of the four of them together. Another wall featured professional nature photos of wild Pokémon his father shot on his journey to the Indigo League. Many of his photos were published in scientific journals including Pokémon Geographic.

"Well, go on!" Nick said. "Open your present!"

Josh wasted no time ripping the paper to shreds. He tore the tape loose, peered into the box, and stopped. Slow, and with care, he reached down into the box. He recognized it, having seen it on the mantle of the fireplace in his dad's office a thousand times; it was his camera. A canvas carrying case, extra batteries, a charger, and memory cards lay at the bottom of the box.

"Mom…I…"

"You don't have to say anything. I know things have been hard around here without your dad, but he would have wanted you to have this. Every time I look at you, I see his face staring back at me. You're so much like him. Take this with you on your journey and make sure to capture the memories you want to cherish forever. I'm clearing a spot on the wall to frame them, so don't let me down! I expect my inbox to be flooded with digital prints every day, mister!"

He set the camera down gently and gave his mom a hug. His little brother came in behind him and the three of them stood, embraced, cried, and gave each other proper goodbyes.

"I'm going to miss you," Nick said as Josh moved to the door.

"I'm going to miss you too, little brother," he replied giving his hair a good ruffling. After he put the memory cards, chargers, cords, and extra lenses in their proper places in his bag, he left the house to find his friends playing with Meowth.

"Took you long enough!" Tanner teased, echoing Josh from earlier.

"You okay?" Caleb asked. "You look like you've been crying."

"I was," Josh admitted, "but it was the good kind of crying. Before we go, I want to take a picture; I want to remember this day forever."

Josh posed them for a selfie and snapped the shutter. Just his luck, Meowth photo-bombed them by leaping onto Tanner's shoulder and digging his claws in, evidently not done with the ear scratches and tummy rubs.

"We can take another one," Caleb suggested, looking at the digital preview.

"Nah," Josh said with a smile. "It's perfect."

"Just like you," Caleb said with a wink. He leaned over an planted a kiss on Josh's cheek, making him blush.

"Not in front of Tanner!" Josh whined.

"Oh, please! Like I haven't seen the two of you stealing kisses when you think on one's looking. You're not fooling anyone!"

Josh punched Tanner in the gut.

"Not so loud! I don't want my mom or Nick to hear!"

And with that, the three friends set off to start their adventure. Ahead of them, Route 1 and Viridian City awaited. Josh kept his fingers crossed to encounter other trainers to defeat in battle and earn prize money along the way. Nothing was going to stand in his way!


	2. Viridian City

—**2—  
**_Viridian City_**  
****TANNER**

"Charmanda, use Ember!" Tanner commanded.

"Char! Char!" his Pokémon replied. In obedient eagerness to please, the little fire salamander opened her mouth and ejected a short, quick puff of fire. Tanner exploded in a giggle fit of absolute delight.

"What are you doing?" Josh asked.

"Playing with Charmanda," Tanner replied.

"Charmanda?"

"That's what I'm going to call her," Tanner announced. "You know, she's a Charmander and she's female…like Amanda and Charmander combined: CHARMANDA!"

"That's the dumbest name for a Pokémon I've ever heard," Josh goaded.

"Your _face_ is the dumbest name for a Pokémon I've ever heard!"

Josh's Squirtle proved to have a nature as Sassy as his own. His Pokémon stuck its tongue out at Charmanda and made a mean face. They had not traveled more than a mile out of Pallet Town and Josh already worked Tanner's nerves. Despite being childhood friends and having nothing but love for one another, they fought like siblings most of the time. In wrestling matches in the past, Tanner proved to be the better scrapper. Before he aimed his tackle, Charmanda blew an indignant flame at Josh, singeing the hairs on his arm.

"Hey! Watch it!"

"Looks your Pokémon is just as Rash as you are, Tanner!" Caleb called from up the road. Route 1 offered a lot of twists, turns, tall grass, and rocks small enough to jump off but too big to climb up. Caleb and his Bulbasaur waded through a nearby thicket, chasing down a rustle Tanner dismissed as the wind.

"I think we're less likely to encounter wild Pokémon if we have our starters out," Josh called out. "That Pidgey back there attacked me straightaway, but once we let our Pokémon out their balls, they stopped showing up."

"Depends on their natures!" Caleb called back. "The Brave and Jolly ones, for example, have no problem initiating a fight with a Pokémon stronger than them. I'd love to catch a Jolly Pidgey!"

As the trio continued their journey north, they did not encounter a single wild Pokémon, much to Tanner's chagrin. Josh acted as if he could have cared less and commanded his Squirtle to return to his PokéBall when they reached the edge of Viridian City. Caleb pointed to a building on the south end of town.

"There's the Item Shop. I'll go get Professor Oak's package so we can deliver it to him like he asked."

"I think you mean so _you_ can deliver it," Josh corrected. "I'm going to find some trainers around here to battle."

"My feet hurt from walking uphill," Tanner said. "Plus, I think Charmanda is hungry."

"Char! Char!"

"So, you guys are really going to make me go all the way there and all the way back all by myself?" Caleb demanded.

"Yep! And because I'm so nice, I'm going to wait for you here in Viridian City before I move on to the forest. You're welcome!"

Josh sprinted into the city like a man on a mission, leaving Tanner and Caleb to eat his dust. Looking up at him with pleading puppy-dog eyes, Caleb requested without words for Tanner to accompany him.

"I'll go with you, but I'm not going back right now," Tanner offered. "I'm serious. My feet hurt!"

"Fine!" Caleb huffed. "My mom was right; I'm going to end up having to take care of the two of you the whole way."

_Grumble-grumble-grumble._

Tanner tuned him out as they parted ways. While Caleb moved to the Item Shop, Tanner kept his trajectory fixed on the Pokémon Center. As the automatic double doors slid open with a hydraulic hiss and opened to polished marble floors, Tanner felt an involuntary smile hit his face. Couches, plush-cushioned chairs, and coffee tables comprised the areas to the right and left. People sat with their Pokémon and relaxed. One older gentleman sat sipping tea, his Growlithe snoozing at his side. Across the room, two young children, twins, a boy and a girl, ran in circles around a Jigglypuff, playing some sort of pattycake game. Some hotshot ace trainers loitered around the stairs, their Electabuzz and Magmar squaring off as if to fight. One of the nurses chased them outside before it could escalate into an all-out battle. If they hadn't returned their Pokémon to their balls, that's one fight Tanner would have followed them out the door to spectate.

"Excuse me, young man!"

Tanner turned to find a young woman, pretty and smiling, standing behind the counter ahead. She wore a nurse's uniform and wore her long pink hair in two long, trailing pigtails. He knew her by name and reputation though never acquainted officially. He strode up and rested his hands on the counter.

"You must be Nurse Joy! I'm Tanner! Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too. Do you have Pokémon in need of care? Just put the PokéBalls on this tray and we'll take care of the rest."

"Chansey!"

Her Pokémon, unnoticed until now, walked up from the other side of the counter and put a stainless-steel tray with six round, semi-circular grooves down. Tanner reached for his PokéBall with Charmanda and set it down gently for the Chansey to take care of.

"You know," Tanner said, watching the Pokémon disappear behind the doors on the back side of the counter, "I heard an interesting conspiracy theory involving the nurses at Pokémon Centers around the region. Society accepted you are identical with the explanation of being siblings, but this guy from school I know thinks you're all the results of genetic experiments splicing human DNA with Pokémon—basically all Pokémon are half-Chansey-half-human Stepford Wives."

Nurse Joy gave a nervous giggle and blushed.

"You're a very peculiar young man aren't you, Tanner?"

_Lady, you have no idea._

"I'll take your dodging the question as admission and confirmation of said conspiracy," Tanner grinned. "Where should I wait for Charmanda?"

"You can have a seat right over there in the waiting area," Nurse Joy replied. "There's no one ahead of you so it shouldn't be more than a few minutes before your Charmander is back to perfect health."

Tanner turned and left Nurse Joy to her uncomfortable contemplating. He kicked off his boots, yanked off his socks, and let the cool, conditioned air hit his feet. Using the cushions as pillows, he sprawled out to get comfortable and attempted a power nap. His brain never slowed down so he ended up on his phone, scrolling through social media in search for more interesting theories to pour over.

"Tanner! Your Charmander is ready!"

He found himself loathe to put on his shoes and socks.

"Wow! That was fast. Hey, I don't care if you are some weird result of gene-splicing, but I must know if all of you have some collective psychic connection. Like…is the Nurse in Pewter City going to remember this conversation when I talk to her?"

"Dude!" The exclamation came from a young trainer behind him. "Stop harassing Nurse Joy. She has other clients besides you!"

"Yeah!" a girl said from behind him. "Keep the line moving!"

Tanner put the PokéBall on his belt and turned around with a skeptical eyebrow raised. A long line of trainers with injured Pokémon formed behind him. He mumbled an apology and stood aside as he counted them. One-two-three-four-five trainers all at once. He let out a long, low whistle.

_Someone swept the floor with these scrubs,_ he thought with a sneer. _I wonder…_

"Ugh! Is this the line?"

The indignant huff came from a familiar voice at the entrance. Josh stood in the doorway, Squirtle at his side. His Pokémon looked a little roughed up, but stronger than ever. Tanner came to stand alongside his friend.

"Did you get challenged by the trainer who beat all these guys too?"

"I _am_ the trainer who beat all these," Josh replied, sticking his nose in the air. Tanner laughed and then realized he was serious. Wide-eyed and impressed, he gave an approving nod and a one-man applause. Even though Tanner was trying to give him genuine praise, Josh took it as a slight. "I'll beat you too, jerk! I won't even heal my Squirtle first. Come on! Bring Charmanda out so I can whip you both!"

"Whoa-whoa-whoa, man!" Tanner threw his hands up. "Why don't you chill all the way out. I don't want to battle; I know you'd win. Type advantage."

"Huh?"

"Type advantage?" Tanner pressed. "Fire is weak to Water."

Josh offered him nothing but a blank stare.

"Nevermind. Look, it only takes a few minutes for them to work their magic. See? The line's already moving. Get Squirtle the care he needs."

"I get it, Tanner," Josh jibbed. "You're scared to face an ace trainer like me in battle. You don't want to have to pay me prize money when you lose. It's all good."

Angry heat flushed into Tanner's cheeks as anger surged up like fire. He looked at Squirtle, looked up at the perfect Sunny Day and decided he was going to teach his friend a lesson he'd never forget.

"You're going to regret this, Josh," Tanner promised. "Let's go. You. Me. Outside. Right now."

He marched out of the Pokémon Center and into the grass clearing. Making a show if it, he performed some lunges and other stretches. Josh and Squirtle followed and stood fifteen paces away, both with smirks painted on their face.

"You sure you want to do this?" Josh asked. "It's not too late to back down, you know."

Tanner clicked the button on his PokéBall.

"Charmanda, Go!"

And the battle was on. Charmanda and Squirtle squared off and prepared to battle. Scratches, Tackles, Embers, and Bubbles traded back and forth in an angry tumult. Both Pokémon performed valiantly, but in the end, Charmanda landed a critical hit with her Ember boosted from the heat of the sun. Josh's posture sank so low he appeared to melt into a puddle.

"No way! I lost?!"

Despite the disagreement, the look of devastation on Josh's face tempted Tanner to come rushing to his friend's side with a "there-there-it'll-be-okay" speech, but he refused. His baser instincts told him to rub his victory like salt into Josh's wounded pride but didn't feel right about that course of action either. Instead, he stood his ground and called his Pokémon back to her PokéBall.

"You should have listened to me," Tanner said. "Do you know why you lost?"

His friend, always one with sensitive emotions, knelt and scooped up his fainted Squirtle, tears wetting his red cheeks. After carefully cradling Squirtle in the cook of his arm, he wiped his eyes with his free hand and shook his head.

"If both of our Pokémon were at full steam, your Squirtle would have made quick work of Charmanda, but you forced him to keep battling. My Pokémon has the speed advantage, full health, and a hidden ability boosting its special attack on a day like today. Don't let a few victories go to your head; if you want to be the champ, you need to learn to think about things like this. A few victories against some Pidgey and Rattata is one thing, but you're going to face trainers far better than me and you need to use your head."

"You're right," Josh said with a sniff. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," Tanner said. "Pay me my prize money and get in line at the Pokémon Center."

"You're going to make me pay you?" Josh demanded. "Beating me and humiliating me isn't enough? You have to rob me too?"

"Nope," Tanner pressed. "Only after you've been beaten, humiliated, and paid the piper will you have truly learned your lesson. Would you rather fork over the dough to the next lucky scrub you picked a fight with, or me, your good friend who's only looking out for you?"

"Fine."

Josh paid up with all the scorn and disdain a diva of his caliber could conjure. Tanner tsk-tsked as he watched his friend enter the double doors of the Pokémon Center and stand in the back of the line. The trainers in front of him all looked back at him with darts in their eyes; Josh kept his glued to the floor. Tanner chuckled as the double doors closed behind him. He took a moment to count his winnings, happy to enjoy in the spoils of Josh's previous victories. He looked at the Item Shop across town and thought he might need to stock up on provisions for the journey.

"You should deposit that money in the PokéBank."

This scolding came from Caleb. He approached, covered in thorns and thistles, looking a little worse for wear. By his out-of-breath panting, Tanner figured he ran uphill all the way from Pallet Town back to Viridian City.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"Well, my good-for-nothing friends left me to deliver Professor Oak's parcel alone," Caleb complained. "I had to traverse Route 1 by myself—twice. It's absolutely invested with Pidgey, by the way, and Bulbasaur is weak to Flying-type moves, so he's barely conscious. I had to run away from every encounter just to keep from getting Gusted to death. Good thing I found a Potion in the grass or we'd have been goners."

"Sorry, man I just—"

"I know!" Caleb cut him off. "Your feet hurt, Josh wanted to battle trainers, and both of you are too busy to think about anyone but yourselves; I got it. Here's your PokéDex. It took me all kinds of begging and pleading for Professor Oak to let me leave with _three_ of them. They're one of the most expensive electronic devices on the planet, but I didn't want the two of you to go without, so here."

While on his angry rant, Caleb retrieved a small, red mobile device from his bag and gave it to Tanner. Before he could work up a better apology, his friend rounded him and sauntered towards the Pokémon Center doors, leaving Tanner feeling thoroughly guilty as he held the PokéDex in his hands.

A stray piece of paper fell from Caleb's backpack as he left. It started to blow away in the wind, but Tanner caught it with his boot and picked it up.

"Hey, Caleb!" he called out. "You dropped…"

"What?"

"Nevermind," Tanner shouted back. "False alarm."

Caleb dropped a shopping list of sorts. All kinds of things the three of them should purchase and prepare: PokéBalls for catching, Potions, Antidotes, and Paralyze Heals for Pokémon care. His friend might be too mad to hear his apology now, but Tanner resolved to make it up to him. He pocketed the shopping list and trotted over to the Item Shop.

Grabbing a basket, he loaded up with thirty PokéBalls, nine Potions, six Antidotes, and three Paralyze Heals. His winnings and money he left home with proved enough to cover the expense. The nice lady working the counter gifted him three Premier Balls, and an official Indigo League backpack for spending so much at the store.

Happy as a Shellder in the summer, Tanner carried the bags back over to the Pokémon Center where he found his friends cuddled up together on one of the couches watching videos on their phones. Bulbasaur and Squirtle were out of their balls, playing together at their trainers' feet. By the looks of things, Caleb had forgiven Josh. He offered a friendly smile to Tanner who took a seat on the couch across from them.

"Someone went on a shopping spree!" Caleb noted.

"Yeah, with _my_ money," Josh said snidely.

"Formerly your money," Tanner corrected, "and mine after I beat you fair and square."

"With an unfair advantage!"

"One you could have avoided if you had bothered use the organ between your ears," Tanner shot back. "Don't get your panties in a twist; I bought stuff for all of us."

Josh's eyes brightened as he repositioned himself from under Caleb's cuddling and leaned forward to watch as Tanner opened the paper sacks. Before he started, he let Charmanda out of her ball so she could play with the others. Like a good girl, she made fast friends, even with Josh's Squirtle. Tanner separated the goods into three piles: ten PokéBalls, three Potions, two Antidotes, and three Paralyze Heals. He kept the backpack and the Premier Balls for himself.

"How much do I owe you for all of this?" Caleb asked.

"Nothing," Tanner replied. "These are apology gifts for being such a jerk earlier. By the way, is Bulbasaur okay?"

"Bulba! Bulbasaur!"

"He's fine after receiving the finest care that Viridian City's Pokémon Center has to offer," Caleb said. "Thank you for asking—and thank you for this. We can get started bright and early tomorrow morning and won't have to wait in line for the rush at the store."

"So…apology accepted?"

"Apology accepted," Caleb confirmed. "You know me; I can't stay mad at either of you for long."

Tanner stretched and let out a yawn. Looking out the window, the sun had finally gone down. He didn't realize how exhausted he was until now. He could only imagine how Caleb felt.

"Why don't we call it a night?" Tanner suggested. "We want to start the day rested and refreshed. We got a long journey ahead of us and still have to decide if we're going to catch the wild Pokémon around here or move on to Viridian Forest."

"Sounds like a plan," Caleb said. Josh only yawned in agreement and wiggled his way back into the cuddle puddle. Tanner stretched out on the couch and fell asleep in just a few minutes. He dreamed Charmanda skipped over her Charmeleon evolution straight into Charizard. The look on Josh's face was priceless.


	3. A Rival from Sinnoh

—**3—  
**_A Rival from Sinnoh_**  
****CALEB**

"Weedle, the Hairy Bug Pokémon. Often found in forests, eating leaves. It has a sharp venomous stinger on its head."

Caleb set his PokéDex to read the entries aloud as he aimed the lens at the thriving wildlife all around. Route 2 ended up much kinder to him than Route 1—mostly because his Bulbasaur grew strong fast. He'd already learned Leech Seed, Poison Powder, and Sleep Powder. All this from battling only wild Pokémon too! He reached down at his belt and gave the PokéBall a pat, hoping Bulbasaur would feel his love.

A tiny Caterpie came inching from between some tall grass. Delighted, Caleb tried to lean down and get close to it. The wild Pokémon was terrified of him, of course, and scurried away in fright, but not before the PokéDex did its job.

"Caterpie, the Worm Pokémon. Its short feet are tipped with suction pads that enable it to tirelessly climb slopes and walls."

Happy with his progress so far, Caleb stood and basked in the sun. Some hundred feet away, Josh concluded a battle with some unfortunate youngster named Joey. His Rattata was no match for Josh's Squirtle who recently upgraded his Bubble attack for Water Gun and washed out the competition. Tanner straggled behind, administering a Potion to his Charmander instead of making the long hike back to the Pokémon Center.

"Did you win?" Caleb asked. Tanner scoffed.

"Of course I won! What kind of question is that? What are you doing? Still filling up your PokéDex?"

"Yeah," Caleb replied. "I think I'm going to sneak over to Route 22 real quick."

Tanner reached into his pack and pulled out his Town Map, scratching his head. He raised a skeptical eyebrow and narrowed his gaze.

"That means going back to Viridian City and taking the west road," Tanner pointed out. "We're so close to the forest edge; why go back?"

"There's a few Pokémon living there I want to add to the PokéDex," Caleb explained. "Who knows, I might even try to catch one."

"There's nothing around these parts but Pidgey and Rattata until you get into the forest," Tanner objected. "From there it's just Weedle and Caterpie. Maybe the occasional Kakuna."

"Don't forget about Pikachu," Caleb said. "They're exceedingly rare, but they live in Viridian Forest too."

"Shut up!" Tanner exclaimed. "Are you serious? I love Pikachu! Why aren't we busy trying to catch one of _those_?"

"Don't let me stand in your way. There's enough time in the day for me to go there, come back, and catch up to you. You won't make it to Pewter City in one night; we'll have to camp. Tell Josh where I went when he's done battling, will you?"

Caleb turned around and started back down Route 2 to Viridian City. He stopped at the Pokémon Center out of sheer habit and let them run Bulbasaur through their machine. At a steady pace, he put one foot in front of the other and veered west. High, rocky cliffs lined the north and south edges of the pass. If he followed it to the end, the trail led to Victory Road, the last big cave for trainers to overcome before they reached the Indigo Plateau—home of the Elite Four and the Kanto Champion. Without the badges to prove his worth as a trainer, Caleb wouldn't make it through the front door, but it didn't matter. His interest remained in the patches of tall grass on the Route between Viridian City and Victory Road.

Here, Caleb might find wild Spearow, Mankey, and both male and female Nidoran. Wading through the grass for nigh on and hour, however, and only Rattata and Pidgey attacked. Bulbasaur still had trouble fighting them, and Caleb wished he had listened to Tanner. A Pikachu from Viridian Forest would make quick work of a flock of Pidgey.

_Not to mention it's one of the few native Electric types in the region._

He and his friends looked forward to earning their badges. Josh would have no trouble getting his Boulderbadge, and Caleb figured with a strong Grass type like Bulbasaur, a Cascadebadge shouldn't be too hard to obtain. Tanner, on the other hand, unless he caught something to counter Rock and Water had a tough road ahead of him. Charmanda faced off against all her weaknesses.

_He beat Josh_, Caleb remembered.

While both his friends looked forward to training Pokémon to battle, earning badges, and competing in the Indigo League, Caleb wanted nothing more than to research. Explorers all over the world discovered new regions far away, filled with wild Pokémon not yet discovered. One day people would migrate to those regions and would need a Pokémon Professor. Caleb liked to think of himself wearing a lab coat, owning a reservation to act as home to the surplus Pokémon from trainers in the region, and passing out starters to the bright-eyed trainers of tomorrow.

_Yeah…that's a life I could get used to._

"Mankey, the Pig Monkey Pokémon. Extremely quick to anger. It could be docile one moment then thrashing away the next instant."

Caleb only caught a glimpse of the wild and rare Pokémon before it slipped out of sight, but it was all the PokéDex needed to include the entry.

"Sounds like Tanner," Caleb said aloud with a chuckle.

As a fighting type, Mankey would make a wonderful addition to Caleb's team when it came time to fight the Rock Pokémon in the Pewter City gym, Mount Moon, and Rock Tunnel. Then again, Bulbasaur would breeze through battles of that sort too. Tanner, on the other hand…tempted to try to catch one for his friend, he thought better of it. If he caught it, he'd want to keep it.

Instead, after Caleb managed to spot Spearow and a male Nidoran, he wandered off the beaten path to climb down the rocks to get near the water. There were small docks leading to a bottom entrance to Victory Road, but it also acted as a port for immigrants and tourists. If he stayed far to the east of the dock, he should go unnoticed. A Pokémon he wanted for his team mad its home in the waters instead of tall grass.

**NO FISHING**

Caleb looked at the sign and almost reconsidered. The Indigo League officials loved to regulate things like where new trainers could fish, and Caleb thought it ridiculous. They made the rule based on the high-level Pokémon in the waters, but he'd never hook one of those with the Old Rod he borrowed from his neighbor. Reaching into his bag, he assembled the rod and baited the hook. While a little out of practice, Caleb's dad taught him to fish a few summers ago, and the skill came back to him quick.

To his surprise, something bit right away. Tugging backwards and upwards like his dad taught him, Caleb pulled the Pokémon out of the water with a single tug. An angry Poliwag attacked. Caleb aimed his PokéDex at the Pokémon to make sure he got his entry.

"Poliwag, the tadpole Pokémon. Its newly grown legs prevent it from running. It appears to prefer swimming than trying to stand."

The adorable little blue tadpole attacked out of fright, unable to get away after being hooked on the fishing pole. Caleb reached for the ball on the belt and clicked its button.

"Go, Bulbasaur!"

His Grass starter emerged ready for a fight. The Sunny Day gave him the speed advantage over the Poligwag.

"Use Leech Seed!" Caleb commanded. The Poliwag was seeded and fed its energy to Bulbasaur. Poliwag retaliated with a Bubble attack which Bulbasaur endured in stride.

"Bulbasaur, lure it to sleep with Sleep Powder!"

A puff of blue powder erupted from Bulbasaur's stem and into Poligwag's face as it fell asleep standing up, snoring gently. Caleb smiled and reached into his pack for a PokéBall. He hit the button and threw it at his target. The true aim paid off as it collided with the sleeping Poliwag and transformed it into glowing red energy before snapping shut. Caleb waited as the ball wiggled back and forth, the wild Pokémon struggling against its new home. It clicked and came to rest.

"Good job, Bulbasaur!" he praised, tossing a PokéPuff as a treat.

Caleb trotted over to claim his prize and put the ball on his belt. He would need to make a stop back in Viridian to the Pokémon Center to get Poliwag healed up.

"I've got big plans for you," he said.

"Bulbasaur!"

Jealous at the attention Caleb bestowed upon his new friend, and eager for another PokéPuff, Bulbasaur took to tickling his legs with his vines.

"Bulbasaur, stop!" Caleb giggled. "That tickles."

"It looks like you've got a really good bond with your Pokémon!"

Caleb turned in surprise to see a young trainer standing on the docks behind him. Amidst the excitement of fishing, the battle, and the catch, Caleb was too distracted to notice his spectator until now. The boy was around his age, of a similar height and stocky build as Caleb. Darker of hair with bright green eyes, he dressed in khaki colored cargo shorts, an army green tank top, and a hat from the Sinnoh League—red and black with a blue emblem on the front. This boy from Sinnoh was cute. Cute boys always made Caleb feel flushed and bothered.

"Not much of a talker, I gather?"

"Oh! Ha! I'm sorry. It's just you're not supposed to fish here and you caught me."

"Don't worry, man. I'm not going to tell. I'm Casey."

He extended a hand which Caleb readily accepted in a firm shake.

"I'm Caleb. You're from Sinnoh?"

"What gave it away?" Casey asked, reaching up to give his hat a flick.

"Did you just move here?"

"Technically, I haven't moved here yet. My stuff is still on the boat with my mom and my sister. They're in line at the passport office to get our immigration papers all in order. I'm just stretching my legs and enjoying this weather."

"I see," Caleb replied. "You have three PokéBalls on your belt. Mind if I meet your team?"

"Not at all. Alright everyone! Come on out!"

He clicked the buttons on all three balls and tossed them onto the dock. In a hiss of energy, his team assembled, looking strong and proud like their trainer. Caleb didn't wait for permission to get out his PokéDex and pass over each in turn. How often would he get the opportunity to gather data on species from another region?

"Turtwig, the Tiny Leaf Pokémon. Made from soil, the shell on its back hardens when it drinks water. It lives along lakes.

"Starly, the Starling Pokémon. They flock in great numbers. Though small, they flap their wings with great power.

"Shinx, the Flash Pokémon. All of its fur dazzles if danger is sensed. It flees while the foe is momentarily blinded."

Caleb looked down at the team with admiration. Grass/Ground, Flying/Normal, and Electric: it was the start of a great competitive team. Perhaps on his way back to Viridian Forest, he would take the time to catch a Pikachu after all.

"Quite an impressive trio," Caleb praised.

"Thank you," Casey replied. "Turtwig was my starter, Starly was my first catch, and Shinx was a parting gift from my dad before my mom, my sister, and I left for Kanto."

"He didn't come with you?"

Casey shook his head.

"No. Mom and Dad are getting a divorce, and Mom wants her kids to grow up in Kanto where she's from. Our grandma and all our cousins live here, so it's not like we'll be all alone. It just sucks because I was on my way to get my first badge and start my journey to the Sinnoh League when my parents gave me the news. Now I have to start all over."

Caleb reached into his bag to retrieve a notebook and a pen to write down the address for Professor Oak's lab. He committed it to memory long ago after filling out countless applications for schools around the world. It along with a Town Map of Kanto was all Casey needed to get started.

_Would it be weird if I asked him to join us?_

Yes, he decided, it would. They only just met, and both Josh and Tanner could be strange when it came to new people. Caleb got along with everyone, but their prickly personalities sometimes caused a ruckus. Not to mention the potential jealousy issue with a cute boy vying for the attention Caleb reserved for Josh.

"I hope to see you around," Caleb said. "I'm going to climb back up to the route and catch up with my friends. It was nice to meet you, Casey."

"Before you go, here's my trainer number. If you use the PokéConnect app on your phone, we can stay in touch. All my friends are back in Sinnoh—it'd be nice to make some new ones."

Caleb blushed, but wasted no time taking down the number and adding Casey to his contacts on PokéConnect.

"Do you know where you'll be living?" Caleb inquired.

"As long as everything goes well with immigration, for now, we'll be staying at my aunt's house in Cerulean City. I'll probably head back to Pallet Town and meet Professor Oak first though. Thanks again for the address."

"My pleasure." They said their final goodbyes and Caleb turned to make his ascent up the rocks to get back to Route 22.

"Hey, Caleb!" He turned around to meet Casey's eyes. "I'm kind of disappointed you didn't challenge me to a battle. Where I come from, when trainers meet eyes, they battle. Probably good you didn't, I suppose. You have two Pokémon and I have three, so it wouldn't really have been fair. I expect a battle next time."

"You're on!" Caleb said with a smile. That smile stuck with him the entire way back up to the route. To his surprise, Josh and Tanner were there wading around in the tall grass. They didn't notice him at first, so he took a seat on a nearby log and thought about his new rival from Sinnoh. What kind of Pokémon would Caleb need to meet a challenger like him and stand a chance? A Rock or Electric to deal with Starly, a sturdy contender with a Ground move for Shinx, and what to do about Turtwig?

_I wonder…_

"Hey PokéDex," Caleb said, speaking into the microphone. The device lit up to let him know it was listening. "Can Poliwag learn any Ice-type moves?"

"Poliwag does not learn any Ice-type moves on its own, but it can learn Blizzard, Hail, and Ice Beam with tutoring, and Haze, Ice Ball, and Mist through breeding."

Caleb put the device away, dug into his bag for some lunch, and waited until Josh and Tanner noticed him. Josh came running full-speed, grinning from ear-to-ear. All the butterflies in his stomach from Casey went away with one look at Josh, reminding him to be thankful for what was right in front of him.

"Look what I caught!" Josh exclaimed.

Caleb watched as he pressed the button and tossed a ball from his belt. It opened to reveal a stout and sturdy Nidoran female. Caleb beamed with pride, but not before he made sure to get the last missing entry in his PokéDex for the region.

"That's awesome! She's beautiful!"

"Nido-Niiid!" the Pokémon nuzzled up against his leg in response to the compliment.

"She likes you," Josh said.

"Ow!" Caleb reached down and nuzzled a fresh wound on his leg.

"Careful, her ability is Poison Point."

"Now you tell me…whoa! What happened to you Tanner?"

Tanner approached in all his tall-and-lanky swag, skin covered in red spots. Josh started giggling and Tanner growled at him.

"I stepped on a Beedrill nest and got attacked," Tanner confessed.

"Oof!" Josh exclaimed.

"Oof, indeed," Caleb agreed.

"It was worth it though," Tanner smiled. "Go, Pikachu!"

The ball revealed a little electric mouse with bright red cheeks. Caleb made sure to update his PokéDex and then acquainted himself with his friends' new Pokémon. They took an instant liking to him, especially after he offered them PokéPuffs.

"Um, excuse me, mister man," Josh said, "but I believe I see _two_ Pokéballs dangling from your belt."

"Giggity," Tanner muttered under his breath.

"Hey, that's my line," Josh complained.

Caleb rolled his eyes.

"I'd let him out of his ball, but he's sleeping right now. Bulbasaur knocked him out with Sleep Powder. Let's go back to the Viridian City Pokémon Center, guys. We'll all be a lot more comfortable there. I think we should talk about some strategy before we take on the Pewter City Gym Leader."

"Sounds like a plan," Tanner agreed.

"Let's go!"

They recalled their Pokémon and started east down Route 22 to get back to Viridian City. Caleb looked back on last time, thinking about his meeting with Casey. He smiled and found himself hoping their paths would cross again. One thing was for sure, he would have a battle-ready team by then.

"What are you smiling about?" Josh demanded.

"Oh nothing," Caleb lied, putting his arm around Josh's shoulder. "It's just been a really good day."


	4. Boulderbadge

—**4—  
**_Boulderbadge_**  
****JOSH**

Josh never felt relief so much as stepping out of the gloomy, bug-infested shade of Viridian Forest and emerging into the golden glow of the sun. When Caleb led them into the forest he warned them a great deal of Bug-type Pokémon lived there. At first, Josh had been excited about the prospect. Tanner's misadventure with Beedrill inspired Josh and he set out to catch one. The fast, high-attack bug chased him and his Pokémon back to the Viridian City Pokémon Center, however.

"Too bad you didn't pick Charmanda as your starter," Tanner goaded. "I'm having the easiest time in the world battling these Bugs. Charmanda! Use Ember!"

"Charmanda, use Ember," Josh mocked.

Rather than be sore about it, he decided to take matters into his own hands. While back in Viridian, he made quick stop on Route 1 and caught a Pidgey. The Flying type might not have worked as explosively against Bug-type as Tanner's Charmanda's Ember, but it helped him hold his own against their wild encounters. He even decided to catch a little Caterpie because he thought it was cute; he never imagined being the first trainer among the three of them to have a fully evolved Pokémon.

"Alright, Butterfree! Return!"

"You have four on your team already," Caleb praised. "You're on your way to Victory Road."

Josh blushed. So long as he wasn't irritating him or getting on his last nerve, Caleb was the most encouraging person in his life, and he loved him for it. Tanner on the other hand…

"You really think he's going to take a Butterfree to fight against the Elite Four?" his friend scoffed.

Josh loved him too, but the way a little brother loves an annoying older brother who never stops picking on him. _This must be how Nick feels about me._ He made a mental note to be nicer to his brother from now on. Concerning Tanner, Josh kept his mouth shut and fingers crossed a few battles at the Pewter City Gym would knock him down a peg. Both his starter and only catch so far possessed weaknesses against the Rock and Ground types Pewter promised in battle. Josh knew most of this came from holding a grudge for Tanner beating him before, and Caleb would have scolded his attitude, but all the same looked forward to the certain amount of satisfaction coming his way.

"Just because he's using Butterfree in battle now, doesn't mean he's obligated to take it to all the way to the League," Caleb pointed out. "Butterfree was a great battle companion for Viridian Forest."

Josh smiled. Caleb always took up for him. On the flipside, he wasn't afraid to tell him when he was wrong either. Irritating though it was, Josh felt confident he could trust Caleb's opinion without having to decipher some ulterior motive. Tanner too, but he could serve to learn some manners from Caleb.

"We're here," Josh said. "Let's hit up the Pokémon Center and take it easy."

Caleb raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"I'm surprised you're not eager to get to the gym and earn your first badge."

"Oh, I am," Josh replied, "but my Pokémon worked hard and need their rest. I learned the hard way what happens when you go into a battle unprepared."

"You're welcome," Tanner interjected. Josh ignored him. Instead, he led the way into the city, making a beeline for the Center. They turned their Pokémon over to the nurse. Tanner, of course, had to make a scene.

"Hey there, Chansey-clone-collective! Remember me?"

The nurse blushed and gave a nervous laugh.

"I don't think I've seen you around here before."

"Don't play coy with me," Tanner countered. "Your "sister" in Viridian already let me in on the tea. The cat's out of the bag; we all know you're genetic copies of each other with a psychic connection and it's _fine_ so there's no need to pretend anymore."

"Tanner," Josh complained. "Could you not?"

The nurse kept her polite, customer-service face painted on and disappeared with their Pokémon behind the counter. A few trainers overheard Tanner's outburst and gathered around to listen to him give his conspiracy theory. Josh rolled his eyes and crashed on the couch, eager for a few minutes to relax.

"Are you nervous about facing your first gym battle?" Caleb asked.

"Not at all," Josh replied. "Not this one, anyway. With Squirtle's Water attacks and Butterfree having learned Confusion before we left the forest, I'm confident about this one. Don't worry; I'm not going to let my guard down. I bet you'll be fine too. Bulbasaur and Poliwag are the perfect team to take on Rock."

"I'm not sure I'm going to battle—"

"Oh yes you are!" Josh cut him off. "You're not going to play that modest-stand-in-the-background-for-support card. We set off to do this together, and you're _doing_ it."

Caleb smiled and leaned his head on Josh's shoulder affectionately.

"I like it when you boss me around."

"You must be in love with me by now," Josh chuckled. Caleb looked at him and blushed. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but then seemed to change his mind.

"I'm going to go get some more PokéPuffs," he announced. "Behavior that's rewarded is repeated, so I want these on standby when we win our battles."

Josh let out a sigh as Caleb left to hit up the kitchen for some treats, not understanding what he was so afraid of. The feelings were there, but something about the "L-word" sent Caleb running for the hills. Every time. _He'll come around_. Josh pulled up his phone and started reading some bulletin boards from local trainers who battled at Pewter's gym—anything to give him more information to lead to a victory.

"Geodude, Onix, and the occasional Sandshrew…" he said aloud. He tried to cross-reference with his PokéDex but it only frustrated him. The data for a given Pokémon unlocked like a video game achievement but only after it had been scanned.

_What good is that? Oh well…that's what Caleb is for_.

"Hey what moves do Geodude, Onix, and Sandshrew learn?" Josh asked when he returned. Caleb shrugged. "You don't know?"

"I imagine they learn things like Rock Throw, Defense Curl, and I'm pretty sure Sandshrew learns Poison Sting, but I don't have every move of every Pokémon memorized."

"What good are you then?" Josh asked. Caleb deflated. "I'm kidding! Jeez! Lighten up, will you?"

"Josh, Tanner, and Caleb, your Pokémon are ready!"

The nurse's announcement brought them all to the counter to put the Pokémon back on their belts where they belonged. Josh checked the trainer number on all his to make sure there was no mix-up. A strange vision of him calling on Squirtle for battle and Charmanda coming out instead filled him with anxiety. It passed and it made him wonder about traded Pokémon and whether Charmada would even obey his commands.

"Shall we get something to eat first?" Caleb asked. "I'm starving! Come on, it's my treat. I saw a burger place up the road that looks like fun."

The grumbling in Josh's stomach at the mention of food betrayed him, and soon the three of them sat under the umbrella of a table on the outside patio of the restaurant. They ate in silence, having talked the whole day away together on their walk through the forest. It wasn't until after the meal they learned Caleb's real reason for wanting to eat at the burger place: it was right across the street from the Pewter City Museum of Science.

"Caleb," Josh groaned. "Do we have to?"

"Come on!" Caleb urged. "They have fully-assembled skeletons of extinct Pokémon. How can you not be excited about this?"

No amount of resistance would deter him, and before long he dragged them into the museum. Josh was immediately glad, however. The first thing he saw was a monstrous skeleton of a tyrannosaurus Pokémon called Tyrantrum.

"Whoa!" Josh exclaimed. "Check it out! My PokéDex filled the entry for this just by a picture of its bones."

Caleb lost his mind and made it his new personal mission to gather all the data of the fossil Pokémon available. It took the better part of an hour, but in the end, Josh supposed he was glad for the opportunity to build up his entries. He wished for a way to resurrect long-extinct Pokémon to catch. Something about the idea of having a Rock/Dragon dinosaur on his team proved appealing. Not to mention the style points he might earn with social media.

"Aw, man!"

"What's wrong?" Tanner asked.

"My mom gave me my dad's camera and told me to take lots of pictures, and I haven't taken a single one yet."

"No time like the present! Here! Take my picture on the back of this Tyrantrum."

Before Josh could tell Tanner how bad an idea this was, his friend climbed up the bones like a spider monkey and seated himself on the back of the skeleton. Looking around to make sure Caleb wasn't paying attention, Josh got out his camera and snapped a few shots while he had the chance.

"Okay, now get down before Caleb sees you," Josh said.

"I like how you're more worried about his reaction than the museum staff," Tanner chuckled.

"You've met him, right?"

"Fair enough," Tanner conceded. "We'll show him the picture afterwards just to see him blow his stack."

"Oh, we definitely will," Josh agreed. He looked up at the clock. The gym was open for another three hours. Even though they had plenty of time, Josh was getting anxious. He wanted to hold that first badge in his hand after a victorious battle and feel the pride and accomplish. His nerdy boyfriend on the other hand…

"Did you know cloning technology has come so far they are sometimes able to bring extinct Pokémon back from a preserved fossil?"

"Do you want weird Chansey-clones?" Tanner asked. "Cause that's how you get weird Chansey-clones."

"That's the coolest thing I've heard all day," Josh said. "Except, "let's go to Pewter and win our first badge!" That would be the coolest thing."

Caleb offered him a wry expression.

"Okay, you're coming in loud and clear over there. Let's go get our first badge."

And with that, the three of them left the museum and proceeded southwest to get to the gym. Because of the town's strange layout, they had to walk the long way around to get to the front door. The official Indigo League emblem had been plastered to the door with some sort of stucco and painted with acrylic paint. To be honest, Josh thought it looked trashy.

No one minded the door, so the three of them strolled in like they owned the place. The high ceilings and lack of walls made the place seem huge. Of course, the only décor in the entire placed proved to be rocks. Boulders to be exact. Big, round ones cut to be natural, except they were all the same. Like they'd come off the assembly line that way. Tacky. Bourgeois. Boring.

"Oof!" Josh said aloud. Caleb gave him a disapproving look as they continued forward. The gym leader stood at an elevated platform all the way to the back of the building. Between them, trainers waited, with that itching look in their eyes as if they were just waiting for the opportunity for a battle.

_They probably are._

"Excuse me," Caleb began. "We're looking for the gym leader here—"

"Quiet, scrub! Prepare for a rock-hard experience," the trainer nearest to them rushed forward, the angst threatening to pop. He dressed in a brown and gray miner's jumpsuit and had black smudged all over his hands and face. Josh wasn't sure if he was trying to look the part, or if miners just happened to train Rock Pokémon.

"A rock-hard experience?" Tanner chuckled. "Sounds like fun to me."

"Giggity," Josh agreed.

"Wait, I don't want to battle, I just—" Caleb began.

"If you're not here to battle, too bad! You just stepped into the Pewter City gym. Get ready to try your best against our Rock-type Pokémon."

"Go on, Caleb," Josh urged. "What are you waiting for?"

"This is my first trainer battle," he confessed. "I'm a little nervous."

"Don't sweat it, man," Tanner encouraged. "You got this!"

"Alright," Caleb conceded. "Here goes nothing. I accept your challenge!"

The miner threw his ball, and a tough-looking Geodude emerged.

"Poliwag, I choose you!" Caleb said, unleashing his Water Pokémon. "You have the speed advantage! Put Geodude to sleep with Hypnosis."

The swirls on Poliwag's belly lured Geodude to sleep at the first attempt. Tanner laughed outrageously, pointing his finger and guffawing at the miner. Josh smiled and shook his head, more concerned to see how Caleb would handle the battle overall.

"Geodude! Wake up!" the trainer pleaded. No dice. His Pokémon proved to be in full-on snooze mode.

"Poliwag, bring it down with a Water Gun!"

One shot! That's all it took and Geodude fainted. The miner announced another Geodude as his second Pokémon. Per the rules, Caleb had the opportunity to switch out for Bulbasaur if he wanted but decided Hypnosis and Water Gun was all he needed to win. He was right. It took longer to get the battle started than it did to finish it.

"Demolished!" Tanner taunted, jibbing the miner. "You were utterly demolished!"

The miner begrudgingly paid up his prize money and took his spot back in the make-shift rock maze. Caleb smiled and called Poliwag back to his ball.

"I won!"

"Easily," Josh added. "Water against Rock/Ground, remember? Nothing to be nervous about. That' first badge is as good as ours."

"You think you're so tough, kid?" this came from another miner emerging from the fake rocks. Josh had to know. He reached out to touch them only to find out they were made of plastic. The miner stood between him and the fake rocks, his eyes conjuring their best helping of intimidation.

"Hey, buddy," Caleb said. "Why don't you back off."

"It's okay," Josh said. "I got this. You want a battle, right? Let's see what you got!"

This miner's Geodude and Sandshrew went down as easily for Josh and his Squirtle as the ones before had for Caleb and Poliwag. He knew type advantage was a strategy, but never believed how easy battling could be. Josh would stake his life Caleb knew every resistance and weakness of every type and type combination.

_Sounds like he's going to make me a cheat-sheet!_

"I won so pay up," Josh said to the miner after washing him out.

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered. "Don't get such a big head over it. You still got the gym leader to contend with."

_That's true._

The three of them walked up together. Tanner brought up the tail so that he could heckle the miner's feeble attempts at battle a little more. They made some obscene gestures which Tanner returned with more flair. Some people found it hard to be friends, or even in public, with Tanner; Josh found his over-the-top antics endearing.

They reached the platform to find a man in his late-teens-or-early-twenties standing there waiting. Dressed in gray street shoes, brown pants, a utility belt, orange shirt and green vest, the tan-skinned, dark-haired guy offered them a busy-eyebrowed, squinty-eyed smile. Three PokéBalls hung from his belt. Josh wondered if the infamous Onix all the online boards squealed about was hiding in there.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here. Fresh meat from Pallet Town just waiting to show off their stuff and earn their first badge. Am I wrong?"

"You must be Brock," Caleb said.

"Do I look old enough to be Brock? Brock is my dad. My name is Brick and I'm the gym leader here now."

Tanner burst into hysterical laughter. The outburst continued far longer than it should have. Josh wished it was just socially awkward—it was painful at this point. Tanner covered his stomach with his arms, fell to the floor, wept, and screamed out tears.

"What's his deal?" Brick asked.

"He's a little strange," Caleb said apologetically.

"BRICK!" Tanner barked. "His name is Brick!"

The laughter continued. Josh tried not to crack a smile, but it proved contagious as he watched Tanner kick around on the floor like one of the Three Stooges, flabbergasted at how the gym leader's name could be so funny.

"Yeah, so? Lot's of guys have that name."

"You're dad's a gym leader…a Rock type…gym…named Brock…and he named his kid…BRIIICK!"

"Tanner, get off the floor," Josh said. When he didn't comply, Josh kicked him.

"Ow, ass! That hurt."

"Don't embarrass me and I won't kick you," Josh shot back. "Get up! And be serious. You're ruining the moment." Tanner finally pulled himself to his feet.

"You think I'm so ridiculous, don't you?" Brick asked. "Alright, why don't we settle this the old-fashioned way: with a Pokémon battle. You win and I give you the Boulderbadge; you lose, you write me and my father a handwritten apology for making fun of our names before you're allowed to petition for a rematch."

"You're so on!" Tanner exclaimed, rubbing his hands together. "You're so _on_!"

Josh rolled his eyes and stood aside. He wanted to go first, but the chance to watch Brick wipe the floor with Tanner and his attitude suited him just fine. He and Caleb made their way to the side to make room for the battle. The nervous look on Caleb's face told Josh everything he needed to know.

"Doesn't look good, does it?" Josh asked.

"No, but why do you look happy about that?"

Josh shrugged and turned his attention to the battlefield.

"You'll find my resolve and my Pokémon have something in common: they're both rock-hard!" Brick said. Tanner burst into laughter again.

"Dude, you're going to have to stop if you want me to take this seriously."

"Onix! I choose you."

The room filled up with a rock snake that would have reached all the way to the ceiling if completely uncoiled. Josh's eyes went wide.

"I had no idea it was so big."

"Giggity," Caleb whispered. Josh chuckled and elbowed him in the ribs.

"Alright, Charmanda!" Tanner said. "Let's show him how it's done."

"You've got an awful lot of nerve pitting a Fire-type against my Rock-type," Brick sneered. "This is going to be easy. Might want to think about how you want to word your apology."

"You might want to start polishing my Boulderbadge, Brick!"

"Onix! Use Bind!"

Quick as a whisper, Onix coiled around Charmanda and squeezed her tight. The move kept her from moving around, but to Josh's surprise, Tanner didn't seem worried in the slightest.

"Charmanda, show Brick your new technique! Use Dragon Rage!"

"Char!"

His Pokémon unleashed a torrent of fire unlike anything Josh though possible. Wide-eyed and amazed, he stood to get a better look. Maybe Tanner was right; maybe Charmander would have been the better choice of starter. Onix fainted after two attacks, doing minimal damage to Charmanda. She maintained the speed advantage over the two Geodude to come after, and neither of them could abide more than a single Dragon Rage attack.

"Woo! I did it! I won!"

"It is with great obligation, I, Brick, official gym leader at the Pewter City Gym, do award you, Tanner, with this Boulderbadge. Now, if you don't mind, will you please stand aside. I have more contenders to assist today."

"Check it out you guys," Tanner said. He held the badge out with such pride, Josh worried at once he might throw up everywhere. "I bet you never thought I'd be the first one to earn a badge."

_You got that right_, Josh thought. He pushed the emotions to the side, trying not to be competitive and petty. Then again, Tanner had won his second battle against a trainer at disadvantage as far as type was concerned. Perhaps if Josh didn't let jealousy cloud his judgment, he might learn a thing or too. Truth was, Tanner was a damn good trainer, and he might learn a thing or two if he paid attention. He could think of no better rival than his childhood friend.

"Good job!" Josh said. "Now, get off the battlefield so I can get mine."

"Atta boy!" Tanner cheered. "Hope you got enough of those badges, Brick. You're about to lose—again!"

"Tanner, could we maybe talk about not heckling the gym leaders when we travel together?" Caleb asked. "I'd rather not be associated with you if you talk smack and then lose."

Josh let their voices fade away as he stepped up to the battlefield and prepared. All nervousness melted away as the thrill of battle swam through his veins like liquid lightning. This was it. This is what he was born to do. He could feel it in his bones.


	5. Showdown at Mount Moon

—**5—  
**_Showdown at Mount Moon_**  
****TANNER**

"I'll be fine," Tanner insisted.

Caleb let out an exasperated sigh. For some odd reason, he took it upon himself to try to prepare Tanner for the road ahead. On and on he went about how Mount Moon was full of Pokémon his team wasn't ready to face. Even Josh told him to worry about himself and stop making it his responsibility to coach the two of them. It took their combined efforts to shut him up and give them some peace and quiet. Last time Tanner checked, he won just as many badges as Caleb, and what more, won his first.

The trio celebrated their victory over Brick by eating dinner out. The burger place across from the museum seemed to be the best place in town, so they ate there again. Something about victory made the food taste much better; he savored every bite. He let Charmanda and Pikachu out of their balls to share in the spoils. Pikachu didn't care much for the burger but loved the fries.

"You shouldn't feed your Pokémon human food until you've checked the PokéDex to make sure its okay," Caleb said.

Tanner rolled his eyes and gave Pikachu another fry.

"We both know you already checked the data and you know it's fine or otherwise you'd be freaking out instead of giving me a responsibility speech."

"I hope Pikachu poops in his PokéBall," Caleb replied dryly.

"Pika-pi?" Pikachu wiggled his ears at hearing his name.

"I think you mean, "Pika-poo," don't you?" Josh asked with a wink.

He and Tanner laughed. Caleb gave them both his famous sidelong look of disapproval which only prompted them to laugh harder.

After dinner, the three of them decided to stay the night at the Pewter City Pokémon Center. With several miles to go on Route 3 before they reached the entrance to Mount Moon, they all decided starting the journey with a fresh start to be the best course of action. According to the map, the Kanto region set up a Pokémon Center right outside, but since Route 3 was known to be a hotspot for trainers, they decided to wait until the next day.

It paid off too. Tanner and Josh battled and won against all the trainers they faced. Caleb must have caught some competitive bug from them because even he challenged a few. Tanner loved watching Caleb battle. For someone who allegedly only cared about Pokémon in the way of research, he trained his team to be strong and ruthless. Bulbasaur's Poison Powder and Leech Seed combo won him most battles. Poliwag's Hypnosis was nothing to scoff at either. Tanner wondered how he might fair in a fight against Caleb's team, and made a mental reminder to challenge his friend.

_I still owe Josh a rematch._

Even though Josh carried double the number of Pokémon, Tanner still felt confident he could win. Pikachu would make light work of Squirtle, Pidgey, and Butterfree on type advantage alone. With Charmanda having learned Dragon Rage…nothing stood to give him much of a challenge for a while. It might even work against the Water gym waiting for them in Cerulean City.

_Caleb's right about one thing: I need to think of the long game. Pikachu and Charmanda are a great start to a competitive team, but I have four more slots to fill._

"Caleb! What kind of Pokémon hang out around here?"

"You have a PokéDex too, Tanner," Caleb replied. "Why don't you look it up?"

"Because I know you and it will take less time for you to answer it than it will for me to look it up."

"In the tall grass, there's Nidoran, Spearow, Mankey, and Ekans and Jigglypuff are rare," Caleb replied. "Once we get inside Mount Moon, we can look forward to finding lots of Zubat, Geodude, some Paras, and a Clefairy if we're really lucky."

"See! Was that so hard?"

"Are you even interested in catching any of those I just named off?" Caleb asked.

"Not a one!" Tanner giggled. "Thanks though."

"Clefairy live in Mount Moon?" Josh asked. "I want one."

"Good luck," Caleb replied. "Trainers have scoured the area for days on end and not encountered one. Did you buy an Escape Rope like I told you?"

"No," Josh countered. "They're expensive and I'm not spending my hard-earned money on something I probably won't need."

"Right. Well. I bought three just in case we need them because I knew I couldn't count on the two of you to—"

"—be responsible!"

"—be responsible!"

Josh and Tanner finished his sentence for him in interjected unison. Their friend turned a bright shade of crimson.

"I'm going to go throw myself in front of traffic."

"Don't do it!" Josh said. He latched on to Caleb and gave him a squeeze. "I like you and I'd miss you too much."

"Hey, guys, I think that's it," Tanner said, pointing. Due north a Pokémon Center waited for them against rock face on all side. A hundred feet or so to the east, the opening to a cave with a sign out front. Too far to see, Tanner would have bet money they found it. As the continued, he made out the words.

**MT. MOON ~ WEST ENTRANCE**

"West?" Josh asked aloud. "But it's east of us."

"Mount Moon connects Route 3 and Route 4 which leads to Cerulean City," Caleb explained.

"Which is east of us," Josh pressed.

"Right, and the east entrance is located further east."

Josh scratched his head. "I don't get it."

"He'll understand when we get to Route 4," Tanner said. "You're both giving me a headache with this east-west nonsense. Let's get our Pokémon healed up and get going."

Leading the charge for once, Tanner waltzed into the Center like he owned the place. Rather than barrage the nurse with his conspiracy of Chansey-clones, he waited to see if she recognized him. He thought he saw her glance at him with a knowing look, but she played it all subtle and cool. Local chat forums concerning the Nurse conspiracy were quiet these past few days, so Tanner decided to make a post.

_Confronted the Nurse in Viridian City and the one in Pewter. Decided to play it cool and see if the one outside Mt. Moon recognized me. She totally did but pretended she didn't. #TheyreOnToMe._

He took an over-the-shoulder selfie with the Nurse in the background for extra effect. The best way to root out a conspiracy was to shout it from the rooftops. He shared the forum on other social media outlets while he waited for his Pokémon to come back.

"Tanner!" Josh complained. "Could you not?"

"Why should you care what I post on social media?"

"Because people know the two of us are traveling together," Josh shot back. "It will hurt my likes and followers if I'm associated with a weirdo like you. Why can't you just be normal?"

Tanner shrugged. Being normal sounded boring, and Josh had little room to talk. Walking around Kanto like he was dressed for a Pride parade—not to mention his geek boyfriend who never shut up about research and responsibility.

"Hey, can you take a picture of the Nurse?" Tanner asked.

"What? Why?"

"Just do it! I want to see if she has a soul."

"Tanner, no! You just took a picture of her with your phone. She has a soul; she's not a Stepford Wife or a Chansey-clone. Jeez!"

"You're no fun," Tanner grumbled.

After fifteen minutes or so, the Nurse called their names so they could collect their teams and return the balls to their belts. Caleb went through his pack with a checklist for the dozenth time, passed out flashlights to the three of them, and led the way out the door. Tanner might never swallow his pride and admit it, but as soon as they set foot into the cave, he was thankful one of them thought to bring a flashlight.

"Wow!" Josh exclaimed. "This place is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside."

"It's not a TARDIS," Tanner said.

"You know what I mean; it's darker than I expected."

"It's a cave," Caleb pressed. "Let's be careful and stay together."

They wandered around the dark for hours before they encountered any wild Pokémon. As if making up for lost time, an entire colony of Zubat came swooping in, screeching, and trying to suck the life out of them—literally. Josh called on Pidgey and Butterfree to create a Gust vortex around them to keep them safe. Once the barrier was in place, Tanner summoned Pikachu to spurt electric Thundershock attacks into the air to chase them away. It worked like a charm.

Meanwhile, whilst the two of them did all the hard work, Caleb threw a PokéBall at one of the stray Zubat managing not to faint from the electric onslaught. Tanner watched as the PokéBall wiggled once, twice, three times, and stabilized, indicating a successful catch.

"Got one!" Caleb exclaimed. He walked over to the ground to pick up his prize and put it on his belt. He administered a Paralyze Heal and a Potion to his Pokémon, all while Josh, Tanner, and their teams worked to protect them from the frenzy.

"Want to give us a hand here?" Tanner demanded.

"Zubat, I choose you!" Caleb called out. "Use Supersonic and chase those other Zubat away!"

_What the _hell_ is he doing?_

To Tanner's surprise, the angry Zubat migrated away from them, flying to some other dark, unseen corner of the cave. Butterfree and Pidgey stopped with the Gust vortex and came to hover over Josh's shoulder. Pikachu climbed up on Tanner's shoulder and nuzzled against him.

_Zap!_

"Ow!" Tanner exclaimed. "Careful, Pikachu!"

"Pika-piii!" it replied apologetically.

"Zubat, use your echolocation to show us the way out of here," Caleb commanded.

"You're going to take directions from a Pokémon you just caught and trust it not to lead us into another nest of those things?" Josh demanded.

"They're not things," Caleb corrected. "They're Pokémon. And yes, to answer your question, I am going to trust the creature that's been living in this cave its entire life over us wandering in the dark with flashlights."

Before, they ran into dead end after dead end, having to backtrack, but Caleb's new navigator proved to have quite the knack for direction. He managed to find an entire pod of sleeping Geodude for them.

"If you want to add a Rock Pokémon to your collection, now would be a great time," Caleb whispered. "Geodude can be territorial and notoriously hard to fight because of their Sturdy ability."

"If they're so great, why don't you catch one?" Tanner jibbed.

"I need a Ralts for that."

"A what?" Josh inquired.

"Ralts. It's native to Hoenn and it has an amazing ability called Trace. As soon as it enters battle, it copies the ability of the Pokémon it's facing."

"Why would need one of those for a Geodude?" Tanner asked.

"Geodude can have three different abilities: Sturdy, Rock Head, and Sand Veil," Caleb explained. "I'd want the second or third ability, and Ralts would help me make sure I caught one with it."

"Why not just catch a bunch until you find one?" Josh asked.

"Because PokéBalls don't grow on trees, that's why."

Like most things in life, Caleb was tight with his money too. He balanced his account if he so much as bought a lemonade from a vending machine. Out of impatience rather than generosity, Tanner had made many a small purchase for Caleb rather than wait for him to do a bunch of math to find out if it was "above the line."

They continued through the cave using Zubat as their compass to lead them onward. Trainers dropped and left all kinds of things behind in the dark. Tanner found a gold Nugget, Josh found a Moon Stone, and Caleb gathered up some Stardust in a little black velvet bag to sell for later. Tanner wondered where in the world he found one of those but decided he didn't want to hear some educational story, lecture on responsibility, or really any conversation that might ensue.

"Caleb is that you?"

The three of them turned their beams in unison up the path to find a young, dark-haired, stocky trainer. He put his hands up to shield his eyes from the beams. The redirected them down to the ground.

"Casey! Wow! It's so good to see you again!"

"You too. Are these your friends?"

"Yeah, where are my manners? This is Josh and Tanner. Guys, this is Casey. He's a transplant from Sinnoh who recently moved to Cerulean City."

"And how do you two know each other?" Josh asked.

"We met on the docks of Route 22 where I caught my Poliwag," Caleb explained.

"Pleased to meet you," Tanner said, shaking Casey's hand. "Cerulean City, eh? That's where we're going."

"You're on the right path," Casey said. He turned and pointed. "The eastern entrance is back there a few hundred more feet. I'm going back to Pewter to get my Boulderbadge."

"I supposed you have to get that one first before you try for your Cascadebadge," Josh said.

"No, I have that one already," Cased said. He reached into his bag for a case and showed them. The badge in the shape of a blue ripple was unmistakable. Tanner let out a long, low whistle.

"How was the gym there?" Tanner inquired. "Was it hard?"

"Honestly, it was pretty brutal. I recommend a strong Electric-type. I had Shinx with me, but even she had a little trouble there at the end. The gym leader's Starmie is not messing around. Just an FYI."

"I appreciate the heads-up," Caleb said. "It was so good to see you again."

"Wait a minute, mister! You owe me a Pokémon battle. I see you have a team of three now, and considering your won a Boulderbadge, I can only imagine you've grown as a trainer. You're not leaving yet."

"Caleb's not the battler between us," Tanner said. "You should battle me or Josh if you want a challenge."

"Yeah," Josh agreed. "We're all on our way to the League, but he's going to be a Pokémon Professor someday; he's just along for the ride."

All eyes turned to Caleb and Tanner's heart stopped for a minute. Never in the years they had known each other had he seen such hurt and anger on his friend's face. He rolled up his sleeves and stepped so that he stood exactly ten paces away.

"He challenged _me_," Caleb said. "Not either of you. And I accept your challenge, Casey. Just so you know, I'm not along for the ride. The two of them only ever think about badges, battles, and Victory Road. Just because I'm preparing for career after the League doesn't mean I should be dismissed as an inferior trainer." He turned to address Tanner and Josh, determination and fury in his eyes. "I know more about Pokémon than the two of you _combined_. I know it gets on your nerves when I try to teach you, but that's coming from a place of support as a friend, not competition. I guess the best way to teach is to lead by example. Watch and learn, boys."

"Hmph!" Josh scoffed. He turned so that only Tanner could hear. "You believe the attitude on him?"

"Honestly, I've never been more turned on in my life right now," Tanner said. Josh made some indignant face, but Tanner ignored him. His eyes were glued on Caleb in anticipation for whatever he was about to do.

"That's the spirit!" Casey said. "There is no knowledge that isn't power. Let's see how that big brain of yours works out against my team!

"Go, Turtwig!"

"Zubat, I choose you!"

The battle began. Tanner worried at first how his friend would fair. If it were him, he might have chosen Poliwag for the speed advantage, but it turned out to work in his favor. The Hoenn starter knew Absorb and while it would have done the Water-type in, Caleb's new Flying/Poison type took each hit in stride. Once it suffered confusion from Supersonic, it went down easily with two Wing Attacks.

"Turtwig, return! Go, Shinx!"

Caleb's Pokémon was faster by the smallest of margins and managed to land a successful Supersonic on this Pokémon as well, but not before his Zubat suffered a vicious Thunder Fang, fainting him in one hit.

"You did good, Zubat! Return! Bulbasaur, it's your turn!"

Bulbasaur and Shinx were a good matchup in Tanner's opinion. No type advantage either way, and both appeared to be in top shape.

"Shinx, use Fire Fang!"

Tanner's heart stopped. He'd seen many a Grass-type go down in just a single hit from a Fire move. Fortunately, the Supersonic landed earlier paid off in a big way. Shinx ran around in circles chasing its own tail and biting it.

"Bulbasaur, Leech Seed!"

"What is he doing?" Josh asked. "Leech Seed is the slow game here. He needs to switch to Poliwag and save his heaviest hitter for last."

"Nah!" Tanner said. "One Thunder Fang is and Poliwag would be down for the count. Caleb's Bulbasaur might be able to take a Fire Fang and stay fighting. He knows what he's doing; just watch."

"Shinx, use Fire Fang!" Casey commanded again. The gods favored Caleb today because it only managed to keep mangling its own tail.

"Bulbasaur, use Bide!"

"Bide?" Josh asked.

"That's the TM we got from Brick, remember?"

"I sold that the thing to Youngster Joey," Josh said. "That move is terrible. I can't watch this; he's going to lose."

The battle continued. Shinx managed to snap out of its confusion and square off against its opponent again. Much of its energy had been lost to Leech Seed and hurting itself in confusion, but it was still in the game.

"Third time's a charm," Casey said. "Shinx, use Fire Fang!"

The Fire Fang was devastating to poor Bulbasaur. The super-effective move sent it reeling to its knees and even caused a bad burn, but it didn't faint. A victorious smile appeared on Tanner's lips. Though it wasn't his battle, he knew exactly what was about to happen. Bulbasaur unleashed all the damage done to it from Fire Fang and knocked Shinx out with one tremendous blow.

"Whoa!" Josh exclaimed. "When Caleb explained the move to me, it sounded really lame. I was surprised he bothered teaching it to his prize Pokémon. Now I know why."

"Shinx, return! Alright, Staravia! You're up!"

Tanner was surprised to see an evolved Pokémon on Casey's team. Staravia were known to be tough old birds too. He wondered why Caleb didn't call Bulbasaur back. The poor little plant was just a round or two away from succumbing to its burn.

"Bulbasaur, use Leech Seed!"

_That's why. Wow! He _does_ know what he's doing._

"Staravia, use Wing Attack!"

The move knocked Bulbasaur out easily, but not before the Leech Seed took effect.

"Poliwag, it's your turn."

"Staravia, get him with a Quick Attack before he can pull any more tricks!" Casey commanded. The Pokémon obeyed, and the hit was true, but it was not enough to faint Caleb's Poliwag in one shot.

"Poliwag, Hypnosis!"

And then it was over. Caleb commanded his Poliwag to Doubleslap Staravia until it fainted. He won. Tanner started applauding and cheering as if he had just witnessed his friend become the Kanto Champ. Josh had a perplexed look on his face like he wasn't sure he could believe what just happened.

"Caleb!" Casey said. "That was the best Pokémon battle I've had since I sent foot on this continent. I want to shake your hand, congratulate you, and say you won't get so lucky next time."

"Thanks, Casey," Caleb replied. "I look forward to our next battle. Go get your Boulderbadge and then meet us in Vermillion City."

"It's a date," said Casey with wink.

"Like hell it is," Josh mumbled under his breath.

They bid Casey farewell as he continued his way through Mount Moon the way they'd come. He had enough Repels on him to keep the wild Pokémon from attacking. Caleb was nice enough to give him directions to the Pokémon Center.

"Dude," Tanner said. "Good show. And I owe you a tremendous apology. I will never underestimate you again. Ever."

His friend smiled at him like he'd just said the only thing he'd ever wanted to hear.

The three of them continued through Mount Moon on their way to Cerulean City. Here, they could look forward to competing to receive their Cascadebadges and get one step closer to becoming champions. Tanner always worried it would be Josh to give him a run for his money when the time came to battle each other. Now, he knew he had not one, but _two_ rivals to watch closely and learn from.


	6. Bill and Eevee

—**6—  
**_Bill and Eevee_**  
****CALEB**

"Watch your eyes," Caleb warned. He led the way to the eastern entrance of Mount Moon and into the bright, midday sun of a beautiful day. Some large, dark cumulus on the horizon promised rain. While it offered less than favorable weather, the prospect excited him. While his Bulbasaur thrived in the bright light of the sun, his Poliwag thrived in the rain. Josh's Squirtle too. Caleb hoped their adventure would lead them to more double and triple battles, but most trainers in the Kanto region preferred to stand alone.

"Wow, it's bright!" Tanner complained. This preceded vampire-like hissing and the pretense of bursting into flames from the heat of the sun.

_To think I have the reputation for being the dramatic one…_

"Can we look at the fossils now that we're outside?" Josh asked.

After his battle with Casey and before their grand exit, Caleb found two fossils in Mount Moon. One was a Dome Fossil and one was a Helix Fossil. Josh and Tanner spent the better part of fifteen minutes arguing over who would get the fossils and whether they should battle for first choice. In some twisted serendipity, a wild Clefairy appeared, and the two of them took to arguing over who would try to catch it. This led to a cat-and-mouse game of the two of them chasing the poor thing around the cave lobbing PokéBalls furiously. Josh ended up making the catch, adding a fifth Pokémon to his team.

Caleb took the opportunity to scoop up both fossils and put them in the bag. That led to further argument, but after playing the I'm-going-to-be-a-Pokémon-professor card in epic fashion, the two agreed the "science nerd" among them should have the fossils.

He pulled them out of his bag to take a closer look. Running his fingers over the grooves, Josh looked at them with admiration for all of eight seconds before he got bored and his interests migrated east to Cerulean City.

"There it is," he pointed. "I can see the gym from here."

"Did you pack your trunks?" Tanner asked.

They turned to see their friend managed to ditch his shirt, change into knee-length printed trunks featuring a female Pikachu riding the waves on a surfboard, and flip-flops instead of his normal black leather boots. Caleb shook his head in bewilderment.

"Did you have those on under your clothes?"

"No, I changed, but you two didn't even notice," Tanner replied. "Honestly, I'm kind of hurt neither of you took a peek; I was naked for about twelve whole seconds."

Josh's cheeks blushed a furious red and Caleb rolled his eyes. Tanner, to add to his other personality quirks, possessed precisely zero shame. In fact, the first time Caleb ever visited Tanner at his house, his dad told him to go on upstairs to his bedroom. Unsuspecting, Caleb climbed the stairs to find Tanner naked as the day he was born, jumping on his bed. Nowadays, he'd learn to expect it.

"It's okay, Josh," Caleb said. "You didn't miss much."

Tanner stuck out his tongue while Josh giggled, turned away, and turned every shade of red on the color spectrum.

"You're going to wish you packed your trunks," Tanner said. "It says here the Cerulean City Gym is a public pool."

"I thought you swam the way you slept," Caleb countered, and added, "in the nude."

"Normally, I do," Tanner replied, "but I hear all the gym members at the public pool are girls and I don't want to scar them for life with my manly body."

"Manly!" Caleb snorted.

"You're working my last nerve with your body shaming," Tanner said. "I thought better of you, my friend; I thought better of you!"

"Relax. I'm kidding. Your body is perfect. Let's hit the Pokémon Center and maybe not harass the Nurse about being a Chansey-clone this time."

"Yes, please," Josh chimed in.

"You two just wait and see," Tanner insisted. "I'm going to blow this story wide open and the world is going to know the truth!"

Spelunking in Mount Moon left the three of them exhausted. They ended up in a cuddle puddle in one of the corner sectional couches napping the afternoon away. When Caleb woke up, he smiled at Josh sound asleep next to him. He slid out from under him nice and gentle so as not disturb him. From across the room, he spotted Tanner engrossed in an arcade game. Outside, the rain came down in a torrential downpour. Caleb watched the barrage of drops patter against the glass and let out a sigh.

Standing to yawn and stretch, Caleb put on his shoes and walked over to the information kiosk. Business cards from local businesses stapled haphazardly to the bulletin board caught his eye. Some trainer posted a personal ad requesting a curious trade: Poliwhirl for Jynx. The first being among the most common found in Kanto and the second being one of the rarest struck him as unusual.

_Why wouldn't he just fish for one?_

Caleb shrugged. He supposed it might worthwhile to fish locally for Poliwhirl just to get the trade. He might even catch another Poliwag and train it until it evolves. After working hard to train the Pokémon Caleb found it hard to imagine being willing to trade it away to another trainer—especially a trainer posting a personal ad on a community bulletin board.

He moved on to brochures for the Kanto League, information about the Cerulean City Gym, its leader and history, and then something caught his eye. On the front, he saw a laboratory and an observatory. He picked it up and read over it in excitement. Unable to contain his delight, he ran over to Tanner to tell him.

"Tanner! Did you know that Cerulean City is home to the famous Pokémon researcher, Bill? He invented the PC system the digitalizes and transports Pokémon from the Professor's reserve to trainers everywhere. He lab is only a few miles from here."

"That's great, Caleb."

Caleb sighed, unsurprised at his friend's reaction. Consumed with getting a high score on the machine and adding his initials in the number one spot kept him from so much as looking away for a moment.

"We should go," Caleb pressed.

"Nah, research is your thing. Go ahead. We're not going to hit the gym until tomorrow."

Caleb left Tanner to his gaming and walked over to Josh, still sound asleep. He knelt next to him and caressed his cheek. With a groan and a frown, Josh opened one eye and looked at him groggy-eyed.

"Want to go with me to Bill's lab and observatory?"

"Where?" Josh asked. Caleb explained the details, but Josh fell asleep mid-sentence and Caleb gave up. He shrugged. While wanting the company of his best friends, he supposed he couldn't expect them to have the same interests as him. They'd be bored, complain the whole time, and probably ruin the experience anyway.

Instead, he moved to grab his bag, get his Pokémon from the nurse, and purchased an umbrella. Following the directions in the brochure, he turned due north towards the bridge that would lead him to Routes 24 and 25. As he approached, he saw trainers lined up to the left and right ends of the bridge stretching from one end to another.

"Excuse me," Caleb said, trying to scoot past the first one.

"I know that look!" the young woman exclaimed. "You're a trainer! Prepare to battle!"

"No, wait! I don't want to battle, I'm just on my way to—"

"Jigglypuff! Go!"

And the battle was on. With an exasperated sigh, Caleb called on Poliwag to take advantage of his Swift Swim ability. None of the members of her team stood a chance to a super-speedy Hypnosis and relentless Doubleslap.

"Am I going to have to battle all these trainers just to cross the bridge?" Caleb asked the trainer after collecting his prize money.

"This is the Nugget Bridge," she shot back. "You have to battle us all and there's a great prize at the end if you beat us all."

With no choice in the matter, Caleb worked his way through the trainers, dishing out a beating to each on. Luckily, he stocked up on Ethers and Potions to keep Poliwag in fighting shape the whole way there. After he defeated the last trainer in the lineup, he offered him prize money and golden Nugget worth a hefty chunk of change. Caleb tucked the item away safely in his bag next to the Stardust he found in Mount Moon.

Tanner and Josh spent their money as soon as they earned it, but Caleb kept his purchases to a bare minimum. Eventually, their journey would lead them to Celadon City where a mega mall filled with all kinds of trainer items awaited them. Caleb already started his online wish list and planned to submit it the night before arriving so his package would be ready for pickup. The idea of wasting an entire afternoon shopping with Tanner and Josh. He loved the idea of quality time but knew their frivolous spending would give him a panic attack.

Caleb turned east after crossing the bridge. The Route was crawling with more trainers in need of a beating. He battled and beat the ones he couldn't manage to sneak past. Some of them, he suspected, let him go about his business as opposed to fighting in the rain. All of them looked at his umbrella with envy. He ran the rest of the way to the lab, sloshing in the mud every step of the way.

"Hello!" he called out, crossing the threshold. "Anyone here?"

No answer. A high-tech computer console rested on the left side of the room. In the back, to containment chambers connected by all kinds of tubes and wires. In the middle of the room, a Clefairy stood alone.

"Oh, hey there, little guy. I didn't see you. Are you lost? Where's your trainer?"

"Thank goodness you've come along," the Clefairy replied. "I've done it again, you see, and I'm going to need your help to get back to normal."

Caleb screamed. Pokémon didn't talk beyond saying their names aloud; it was a known fact. To hear articulation emerge from Clefairy vocal cords and speak perfect English left him rattled to say the least.

"Stop panicking!" Clefairy said. "You'll understand everything in just a second. I'm going to step into that chamber, and I need you to man the controls from that console. Go on!"

Fear led to obedience as Caleb mumbled some reply and worked his way to the console. The Clefairy stepped into the chamber to the left and the door closed with a hydraulic hiss. The menu opened for Caleb to initiate the sequence so he pressed the buttons and watched as electrical energy transferred from the left chamber to the right.

The door on the right opened and a man in his late thirties emerged. He dressed in a posh blue velvet suit, brown shoes, and wore his curly hair in a tumultuous heap atop his head. After arranging his spectacles on his head, he walked forward and extended his hand.

"Name's Bill! You probably already knew that though. Sorry about the scare. My research is less than orthodox and every now and then I end up stock in the body of a Pokémon until a curious trainer wanders into my lab."

Caleb managed to blink and maintain eye contact but found himself without words. Bill slapped his knee, let out a big belly laugh, and put an arm around Caleb's shoulder. After giving him the grand tour of the lab and observatory, the two of them became fast friends. Bill offered Caleb a tumbler full of whiskey and he had to remind him children aren't allowed to drink alcohol. Bill drank both tumblers and carried on in stride.

"How does the PC system work, exactly?" Caleb asked, dying to know.

"Long-story-short: everything can be condensed down to zeroes and ones—even Pokémon—or people for that matter. What you witnessed was my atomic makeup being rearranged to match that of a Pokémon. It worked, but it's getting back to normal always hanging me up.

"What's your story? Are you a technology guy?"

"Biology," Caleb admitted. "I'm studying to become a Pokémon Professor someday."

"Exquisite! Well, I owe you a debt of gratitude for not leaving me to my fate to wander the world as a Clefairy, so consider this your lucky day.

"Do you like cruises?"

"Cruises?" Caleb echoed.

"I have three tickets for a luxury cruise aboard the S. S. Anne," he said. "You said you were traveling with two friends, right? The dock for this is in Vermillion City which is south of here past Saffron. East dock, huge boat, you can't miss it."

"Thank you!" Caleb said, pocketing the tickets.

"That's not all, my boy," Bill continued. "I'm going to write you letters of recommendations for all the universities in Kanto. I'm somewhat of a legend around these parts. Tell me, what good is fame and notoriety if you can't use it to help people make their dreams come true?"

"This is amazing! I'm going to need all the help I can get to get in. I don't come from a wealthy family and tuition is expensive. Hopefully my placement test score and your letters will be enough."

"Take this with you too," Bill said, holding out a PokéBall. Before Caleb could ask what waited inside, Bill continued. "It's an Eevee. I'm sure a smart kid like you has heard of these before."

Caleb had, in fact, heard of Eevee, and long wanted to add one to his team. While in regions like Kalos, Alola, and Galar, Eevee ran rampant, they were rare and coveted here in Kanto. Only special breeders and researchers had access to them. Caleb was so excited he was shaking.

"I can't thank you enough, Bill! Wow! This is so generous of you."

"I'm filthy rich," Bill dismissed. "I'm not saying that to brag, but it's true. I _invented_ the PC system this region utilizes for storing Pokémon, items, regulating trade. You get it. The point is this: money is not my passion. It's science! So, when I see bright young minds like yours with a good moral compass, I can't help but to want to help out."

Caleb knew he was grinning ear-to-ear like an idiot, but he didn't care. He put Eevee on his belt and gave Bill a big hug. The man laughed and returned the sentiment.

"My friends are going to be so jealous when they find out I have an Eevee!"

"You said one of them was sleeping and the other was playing video games, right?" Bill inquired. Caleb nodded. "You tell them this is what happens when you put your mind to good use. Curiosity is the first step to discovery, my boy, and don't you forget it!"

"I won't, sir! I promise. Thanks again."

"Before you go," Bill said. "Do you know what you're going to evolve Eevee into?"

"Jolteon!" Caleb said at once, "but only after he's learned Bite and Wish. I can always teach him the Electric moves I want him to know with TMs later."

"Atta boy! Go on, get out of here!"

Caleb ran the whole way back from the laboratory to the Pokémon Center. He forgot his umbrella and the rain soaked through his clothes, but he could care less. When Tanner and Josh found out what happened they were going to lose their minds.

_I can't wait to see the look on their faces!_

Caleb cleared the double doors of the Pokémon Center, dripping water on the floor. He found his friends sitting at one of the tables, playing Pokémon chess, and he didn't need to glance at the board to tell who was losing.

"You said the Nidoqueen only moves diagonal!" Josh complained. "That's cheating!"

"It's not cheating," Tanner shot back. "And I said Nidoqueen _can_ move diagonally, not that she could _only_ move diagonally. That's Gyarados that only moves diagonally!"

"Whatever! This game has too many rules. I want a rematch."

"The match isn't even over yet," Tanner snapped.

"I meant a _real_ Pokémon battle," Josh clarified. "You got lucky in Viridian City. I am going to wipe the floor with you this time."

"Tell you what," Tanner proposed. "If you can beat me at chess, I'll give you a rematch."

"Coward."

"You're a big baby!"

"You're a baby!"

"Guys, I got an Eevee," Caleb interjected. That brought an end to their argument and brought the attention to him.

"Where did you find an Eevee?" Tanner demanded. "And why are you all wet?"

"Giggity," Josh interjected.

Caleb sighed and sat down to tell them the story. They, of course, wanted to go and visit Bill at the laboratory after he concluded. Certain he would grant them Eevees of their own, the two set out in the rain without an umbrella and left Caleb alone at the Pokémon Center. He smiled with satisfaction and reached into his pack to find some dry clothes. Next time he suggested something boring like a museum or laboratory, he had a funny feeling they'd be more apt to join him.

He looked at the clock and decided to spend the rest of the evening researching blogs on how to train an Eevee. With four on his team now, he was on his way to building a competitively viable team. He'd need it to keep up with Josh and Tanner. While a supportive person by nature, the kind of guy who celebrated the victories of his friends, a small part of him hoped Bill did not grant them each an Eevee of their own. A larger part of him wished he could buy a Thunderstone and a Waterstone from the Item Shop here in Cerulean City, but he knew better.

"I hope you're ready for a big battle tomorrow, Bulbasaur," he said, tapping the ball at his belt.

Caleb crawled back on the couch after changing his clothes and fell asleep straightaway. He dreamed the Alola League chose him for the internship program he applied for in the spring and he moved to an island paradise to study alternate Pokémon species.

_Someday…_


	7. Cascadebadge

—**7—  
**_Cascadebadge_**  
****JOSH**

"Oof!"

Josh watched as Raina, the Cerulean City Gym leader, swept the floor with Caleb and Tanner's teams back-to-back. Tanner went first, thinking Pikachu's Electric moves would be enough to get him through, but as Casey promised, her Starmie was not messing around. With moves like Bubblebeam and Recover, it proved to be a challenge. Not to mention, she wasn't afraid to use Potions and X Specials on her Pokémon during battle to keep them in the match.

Her flowing locks of red hair against her pale skin and blue bikini gave her an aesthetic Josh envied. He always wondered what he might look like as a girl. He pictured a hot blonde version of Raina. Despite her rosy cheeks and charming smile, she proved to be ruthless in battle, and the most challenging trainer they'd faced yet.

_And now it's my turn_.

"Two down, one to go," Raina announced. "You ready to lose?"

Josh gulped. He had never been so scared in his entire life, but he was not about to let it show or back down. Belief in himself and in his team counted for something. Among his friends, he ended up being the first to build a team of six: Squirtle, Pidgey, Butterfree, Nidoran, Clefairy, and Eevee. Bill had been nice enough to give him and Tanner Eevees of their own. Raina used three Pokémon for trainers having obtained one badge: Psyduck, Staryu, and the toughest Starmie Josh had every seen. The first two didn't scare him, but that last one…

"Well?" Rain asked, pulling her red curls behind her ears. "Are you just going to stand there? Or shall we begin?"

In his contemplating, he failed to notice her calling Psyduck to the front lines. He fumbled at his belt for his first Pokémon and pressed the button on the ball.

"Butterfree! Go!"

The two Pokémon faced off. Josh always heard Psyduck were docile, friendly creatures, but Raina trained this one to be vicious. It pulled all kinds of tricks such as diving under the water whenever Josh tried to use a Powder move.

_Good trainers adapt to the circumstances,_ he reminded himself. _They roll with the punches._

Josh should have known better than to try it in the first place. Caleb's poor Bulbasaur puffed himself dry trying to land a Sleep Powder. Josh commanded Butterfree to use Gust and only met with the same failure. He saw the solution at once, and though it flew in the face of the strategy he formed in his head to start, there was no point in wasting time.

"Butterfree, return!"

"Calling him back already?" Raina taunted. "That's too bad. Psyduck was just warming up. You could have used Confusion to start a psychic battle, but that would have just been too interesting, I suppose. Come one. Bring out your next boring Pokémon.

_This bitch is pissing me off._

"Squirtle, Go!"

"You think your Water-type is better than my Water-type?" Raina demanded. "You can't be serious! You mean _that_ is your strategy? You're in for a beating you'll never forget."

"Don't let her throw you off your game, Josh!" Caleb called from the sidelines. "You're doing fine!"

"Sure," Raina said. "Listen to your boyfriend—who just lost!"

"Squirtle use Bite!" Josh said. Before Psyduck could react, Squirtle jetted across the water and snapped his jaws closed. Raina's Psduck flinched.

"Bite him again!" Josh said. Luck favored him today; Psyduck flinched. "One more time, Squirtle; you got this!"

The hit was critical and Squirtle manage to faint his opponent without taking a hit. He looked up at Raina expecting a look of humility and devastation. Instead, her arrogant sneer stayed plastered on her face as she called Psyduck back.

"Go, Staryu!"

Her taunting stopped, and for that Josh was grateful, but her calm silence worked his nerves almost as much.

"Use Minimize!" she commanded.

"Squirtle! Hit it with a Tackle attack!"

Squirtle missed terrible and splashed into the water. Josh groaned, embarrassed, but did not have time to let his emotions get in the way.

"Staryu, Minimize!"

Staryu became harder and harder to hit. Squirtle would wear himself out trying to chase it around the pool and have no energy left for the real threat. Josh watched Tanner and Caleb lose to this same nonsense and decided he was not about to give Raina the satisfaction. At this point, it was less about him winning and more about her losing. He wanted to see her _lose_.

"Squirtle, return! Go, Eevee!"

"Keep switching! All you're doing is buying me more time to raise Staryu's evasion. Use Minimize!"

Josh huffed. "Eevee! Use Swift!"

The hit connected and Raina finally made the face he hoped for. The sneer on her face dropped to one of concern.

"Staryu! Psybeam!"

The variable power attack hit Eevee but failed to cause confusion as Josh assumed Raina hoped. He commanded Eevee to use Swift until he fainted her Staryu. He looked over at Caleb and gave him a wink. Caleb returned his gesture with a big smile and a thumbs-up. Whilee building strategy for the match back at the Center, he helped him by letting him know what each of Eevee's moves did.

"Swift never misses," Caleb had said. "It's not a powerful move, but it's a useful move for those Pokémon who like to use Sand Attack."

_I wonder why he didn't do that when it was his turn…_

"Staryu, return! Go, Starmie!"

"Eevee, return! Go, Squirtle!" Josh countered.

"I suppose I should have seen that coming," Raina said. "Your Squirtle is a powerful hitter, and probably the best you have in your arsenal."

"It's a team, not an arsenal," Josh snapped. "Pokémon are companions, not weapons."

"If only your battling skills were as good as your semantics! Starmie, use Bubblebeam to blow Squirtle out of the water!"

"Squirtle, use Withdraw!"

They reached a stalemate. Starmie's Bubblebeam was powerful but against a tough-as-nails Pokémon like Josh's Squirtle, it had little effect. Raina commanded it to do a Rapid Spin, but Squirtle's defense grew so high, the blow ended up being next to nothing. Josh watched a vein bulge out on Raina's forehead and her face turn as red as her hair.

_Now's the perfect time to turn the tables on her!_

"Squirtle, use Bite!"

The Dark-type move was super-effective against Starmie, but not enough to take it out in a single blow. As expected, Raina commanded it to use Recover and regain its health. Josh crossed his fingers and kept up with the pattern. He waited for Starmie to come in with a Rapid Spin and commanded Squirtle to clamp down as it passed, hoping for a flinch. The first three times it went in a cycle of Bubblebeam, Withdraw, Rapid Spin, Bite, and Recover, but the fourth time around, he got lucky and Starmie flinched from the Attack.

"Finish it up, Squirtle! Bite attack! One more time!"

Starmie fainted.

"I did it!" Josh exclaimed. "I beat her!"

"That's not all, dude!" Tanner said, pointing. "Look!"

Josh turned his eyes back to the battlefield and saw Squirtle glowing. He'd seen his Caterpie do this, and later again when Metapod evolved into Butterfree, but for some reason, it was more magical to watch his starter Pokémon evolve. Though the light was nigh on blinding, Josh refused to look away. He'd been waiting a long time for this moment and planned to savor it. Swelling in size and growing stronger in every way, Squirtle evolved into Wartortle.

So proud he had to wipe the tears of joy from his eyes, Josh called Wartortle back to wrap him in a big hug. His Pokémon croaked out his name over and over in joy, returning the embrace. Caleb and Tanner joined him on the platform to give him hugs and high fives of their own.

"I suppose you'll be wanting this," Raina said. Her smirk had returned, but it didn't seem mad to have lost. In fact, she gave the impression like she was glad someone finally beat her.

"You bet I do," Josh replied. He held out his hand as she dropped a shiny blue Cascadebage into his hand.

"You've got the right stuff, kid," Raina said.

"Kid?! You're only a few years older than me."

"I have boobs and a period and you don't even have hair on your balls yet; you're a kid."

"Hair?" Josh said. He looked down. "On my balls?"

"Your friends will explain it to you, you sheltered little prude," Raina scoffed. "In the meantime, give these two a lesson in battling; they're going to need it for their rematches tomorrow. I'm done for the day."

Josh watched as she and her gaggle of girls giggled their way out of the water and into the locker room. Scratching his head, he tried to understand what she meant, but shrugged it away, too excited about his victory to worry for long.

"I did it!" Josh said, showing of his badge.

"You sure did," Caleb praised. "I'm so proud of you. Good thinking using Eevee's Swift attack. I wish I had thought of that."

"You mean there's something Josh thought of the wise and might Caleb did not?" Tanner jibbed. "Gasp!"

"This coming from the guy whose Charmander was fainted by a Psyduck and whose Pikachu nearly drown in the pool," Caleb shot back.

"My strategy was solid," Tanner maintained. "Water conducts electricity. How the hell was I supposed to know that Pikachu can't swim?"

"They can," Caleb countered. "Just not yours."

"Well, how do you suppose I win my Cascadebadge, smart guy?"

"You could take your Pikachu to the lake nearby and teach him to swim today," Josh suggested. "Then when you rematch Raina she'll be in for a surprise."

"Was that helpful advice, from Josh?" Tanner joked. "Glad to see you haven't risen so far above us that you can't be bothered by the lowly one-badgers."

"First of all," Josh said, "That's not a thing: one-badgers. Second, you guys are my friends; of course I'm going to help. Third, you're going to win your badge tomorrow now you know what you're getting yourself into. We'll be back to equal standing in no time.

"So, you do admit you think you're better than us," Tanner countered.

"Tanner!" Josh huffed. "Could you not?"

The three of them returned to the Pokémon Center to heal up. Caleb passed his time by burying his face in one of the PCs. Peering over his shoulder, Josh saw he was looking at the forums for the Vermillion City Gym.

"Researching the next gym leader?" Josh asked.

"Yeah," Caleb replied. "After you set such a shining example for how to deal with Raina, I feel pretty confident in my rematch tomorrow. Rumor has it, the gym in Vermillion is packed with tough trainers and a tougher gym leader. I don't want to embarrass myself like I did today."

Josh left Caleb to his research and went to find Tanner. Standing in front of the mirror, lacing up his boots and packing his bag, his expression was one of a man on a mission.

"Where are you off to?"

"I'm going to catch some Pokémon to add to my team," he said. "Charmanda and Pikachu are strong, but I need more than two to be a champion."

"Mind if I tag along?" Josh asked. "I've been meaning to catch a good Grass-type Pokémon to add to my team."

"Me too!" Tanner exclaimed. "Caleb's Bulbasaur is an inspiration. Water-type is the most common type in the world and the majority have a Grass weakness. I need a good one."

"Sounds like a plan! Let's go!"

The two of them crossed Nugget Bridge, beat all the scrubs guarding the road, and scoured the tall grass on Routes 24 and 25. By some run of luck, the first Pokémon they encountered was an Abra. Tanner tried to battle it, but it teleported away to safety in the blink of an eye.

"Damn!"

"You'll get it next time," Josh said. "Try throwing a PokéBall without battle it. I know you're supposed to weaken it first, but sometimes it works. Caleb told me so."

They continued their quest. Josh gave Tanner first dibs at battling since he only had two Pokémon. He caught a Spearow and a Bellsprout in a few hours. Bound and determined to catch an Abra, he continued scouring the tall grass for one. He even managed to encounter another one. He took Josh's advice and threw the PokéBall straightaway. It wiggled three times before Abra burst out and teleported away.

The stream of profanity pouring out of his mouth afterwards prompted Josh to put some distance between them. He didn't want to be seen in public with Tanner when he'd blown his stack. Funny as it was, other people tended to look at him like he was crazy, and Josh by association.

_Who are we kidding? Tanner_ is_ crazy._

When Josh wandered into a separate patch of tall grass by himself, he encountered a wild Oddish, much to his delight. Caleb always said Bellsprout was the better competitive choice, but Josh though Oddish was cuter. He could hear Caleb's speech in his brain about how cute Pokémon don't necessarily make good battlers, but Josh shut him out.

With Pidgey's help to weaken it, and Clefairy's help to sing it to sleep, Josh threw a PokéBall and caught Oddish. He moved to pick up the ball and as soon as he touched it, it dematerialized into the red energy and disappeared.

"What the _fuck_?!"

Josh covered his mouth and looked around. No one was there to hear him, but he still possessed that ten year-old guilt when it came to curse words, unlike Tanner. Considering the circumstances, he decided it was appropriate. He ran over to Tanner's patch of tall grass and flagged him down.

"What's up?"

"I just caught an Oddish, and when I did the ball just disappeared!" Josh wailed.

"Yeah, dummy! You can only carry six Pokémon with you at a time per Kanto law. Your Oddish is waiting for you inside the PC."

"The PC?!" Josh squealed. "What's he doing there?"

"Jesus Christ, Josh! Are you for real right now? Go back to the Pokémon Center and have Caleb explain this to you. I'm kind of busy right now! Abra! Here, Abra! Come to Daddy Tanner!"

"But…but…my Oddish!" Josh said. The tears came of their own volition. When he could see Tanner would not budge, he took off running back across the Nugget Bridge. In hysterics by the time he reached the Pokémon Center, he found Caleb still at the PC.

"Caleb! I caught an Oddish and now it's gone! Tanner said it was in the PC and I don't know what to do!"

"Josh," Caleb said with sympathy. He gave him a hug and a pat on the head. Josh felt better immediately and squeezed him back hard. "Let me show you."

Josh listened as Caleb spent the next half hour showing Josh the PC interface and how to switch out his Pokémon. He explained the PC only showed a representation of his Oddish. His Pokémon was safe and sound at Professor Oak's reserve, and if he were to trade one out for Oddish the other would go to the same place.

"Tanner told me he was stuck inside a computer!" Josh complained.

"That's a very rudimentary explanation to an extraordinarily complicated technological phenomenon," Caleb explained. "Your Oddish is only in the computer when it moves from one place to another. Honestly, your Pokémon are more confined inside their balls than they are in the PC. Balls reduce them down to pure energy and leave them in the hibernating state."

"Where did you learn all this?" Josh asked.

"You think I read all the time for no good reason?" Caleb asked. "Congratulations on your catch, by the way. I think Oddish will make a great addition to your team."

Josh smiled. "I was worried you'd tell me I should have caught a Bellsprout."

"I can give you all kinds of statistics as to why Bellsprout is better than Oddish, but when it comes down to it, your team needs to be your decision."

Josh gave him another hug. While their arms wrapped around one another, Caleb stole a kiss on the cheek. Josh blushed and looked around, self-conscious someone might have seen them. When they were alone, Josh had no problem with the hugs and kisses, but the world could be a harsh, intolerant place.

"No one's going to say anything," Caleb promised. "And if they do, I'll Karate Chop them in the face."

"Like a Mankey?" Josh teased.

"Like a Machamp," Caleb replied with a wink, flexing his muscles. He planted a kiss square on Josh's lips before he could protest. He blushed again, this time from the butterflies in his stomach.

"Can we get ice cream?" Josh asked.

"Sure. I need a break. I've been staring at this screen so long I have a headache. Some ice cream sounds nice. Also, I think we should hit up the clothing boutique and salon on the corner. To celebrate your victory, we should get makeovers."

"Yes, please!" Josh said.

They walked out of the center holding hands, and for the first time in as long as Josh could remember, he stopped worrying what people thought of him. After all, he won a Cascadebadge today and caught his seventh Pokémon. He might have a long way to go, but he sure as hell _felt_ like a champion.


	8. Ace Trainer Kate

—**8—  
**_Ace Trainer Kate_**  
****TANNER**

"So, let me get this straight! You're not going to let us pass because you're thirsty?!" Tanner demanded.

"That's accurate."

At the checkpoint between Cerulean and Saffron, a guard station waited. After Tanner and Caleb won their Cascadebadges from Raina, Caleb reminded them Bill gifted him three tickets aboard the luxury cruiser S. S. Anne. Having been so focused on battles, and badges, Josh suggested they do something fun and outside their normal wheelhouse. Looking at the map of Kanto, the easiest way to get from Cerulean to Vermillion was through Saffron…but the dumbest guard in the world happened to be working today.

"Look! Here's a bottle of water," Tanner offered. "Drink up, buddy!"

"Sorry, that's just not what I'm thirsty for," the guard replied. "The road is closed; I can't let you pass."

"Dude. That seriously doesn't make any sense," Tanner pressed. "Can we pay you? We have thousands of dollars in prize money from winning so many Pokémon battles. We might be ten year-old kids, but we're loaded and I bet we have more money between the three of us than you make in a day."

The guard wouldn't budge. He gave the three of them a stern look and kept the way for them to proceed barred. Tanner let out a growl of frustration and pulled out his phone to make a social media rant.

_The guard between Cerulean and Saffron is seriously keeping the road closed because he is THIRSTY! I offered him something to drink, but he's not in the mood for water. This is STUUUUPPPIIIIDD!_

His post received a dozen or so hits in a few minutes. To his shock and surprise, all roads between cities were closed, and all guards replied with the same cryptic response: thirsty, but not in the mood for anything anyone had to offer and unwilling to say what they wanted. Worse yet, when Tanner saw a picture of the guard between Celadon and Lavender he nearly leapt from his skin.

"Clones!" Tanner exclaimed. He looked back at the guard and shoved the picture in his face. "You're a clone, aren't you?"

"Tanner!" Josh huffed. "Not everyone is a clone!"

"Look at this picture," Tanner countered. "That's a picture of the guard between Celadon City and Lavender Town. And _this_ one is a picture of the guard between Fuchsia and Celadon. Look. LOOK!"

Caleb grabbed Tanner by one arm while Josh grabbed him by the other. Together, they marched him out of the guard shack kicking and screaming. Angry as a Beedrill, Tanner worked himself loose from his friends' grasp and kicked at the dirt in a fit.

"You done?" Josh asked.

"No," Tanner shot back. "I'm going to blow this clone conspiracy wide open! Just you wait and see!"

"I've no doubt," Josh replied with a sigh. He looked to Caleb. "What do we do now? We're going to miss the boat."

"Like hell we are," Caleb said. "While Tanner was busy losing his mind and making a scene, I downloaded the Kanto travel app called Companion. According to this, there are underground roads connecting some of the cities."

Tanner raised a skeptical eyebrow. Josh leaned in close so he could see Caleb's phone.

"That's not far from here," Josh pointed out. "In fact, I think it's that building right over there."

Tanner followed his gaze to a dilapidated shack on the side of the road. An old man in a trench coat walked in and closed the door behind him. The whole scene screamed pedophile hideout.

"What cities do they connect?" Tanner asked.

"It's like the board game Clue," Caleb explained. "This one goes all the way under Saffron and leads to Route 6 which is just outside Vermillion City."

"That's lucky!" Josh exclaimed.

"Really they connect the routes, not the cities," Tanner pointed out.

Caleb rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

Tanner thought to make a fight about it. If he found a Companion app and said the underground roads connected the cities, Caleb would have noticed the distinction, corrected him, and denied his being pedantic. He saw no need to get worked up again what with them running late and all.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Tanner asked. "Let's go!"

They walked back the way they came and approached the shack with caution. They opened the door to find an obese man in his forties with a neck beard waiting in front of a subway-style staircase. Wet spots of sweat collected under his arms and beneath his gigantic man boobs.

"This leads to Vermillion City," he said, spitting his words with a lateral lisp.

"We know," Caleb answered. "Thanks."

He led the way for them to walk around the fat creeper and started descending the stairs.

"You should have an ItemFinder with you!" the man called out. "People drop all kinds of fun things in the dark down there."

Caleb reached into his bag and clicked on his flashlight. Shining the beam on the path before them, the three of them walked down the long, dark corridor. Not much scared Tanner, but something about the underground road left him ill at ease. He thought to let one of his Pokémon out of their balls for protection but decided against. Nails and broken glass littered the floors, and offensive graffiti from Team Rocket grunts come and gone over the years covered the walls.

Nothing of event happened, and the three of them made the long walk in silence. It troubled Tanner not to encounter the old man with the trench coat along the way. He expected to find him peddling drugs or something to passersby, but nothing so sketchy transpired. All in all, the journey through the underground road proved uneventful. They emerged at the north end of Route 6.

Tanner broke off into a run before Caleb or Josh could grab him and ran into the guard's station. He pushed both doors open in a huff and marched up to the guard.

"The road's closed," the guard said. "Man, I sure am thirsty!"

"Hey, remember me? I was standing on that side of the station like thirty minutes ago and you gave me the same story. There's no reason for this road to be closed and being thirsty is the dumbest reason I've ever heard for not letting people pass especially when they offer you something to drink!"

The clone only blinked with a vacant expression and refused to say more. Tanner spun on his heels and stepped back outside. Caleb and Josh almost made it to the door by then, exasperated expressions painted on their faces. Tanner shook his head and kept strolling down the path. Trainers waited for someone to cross their path and battle, and for once, Tanner avoided them. If they wasted too much more time, they'd miss their departure, and still needed to close several miles between here and the docks at Vermillion.

Caleb and Josh followed his lead, doing a crisscross through the tall grass to avoid the trainers. They encountered no wild Pokémon along the way, but Tanner spotted a few Krabby hanging out in the water just waiting to be fished.

_I need to get my hands on a fishing rod_.

Caleb borrowed an Old Rod from his neighbor, but Tanner wanted something better to catch higher-level and rarer Pokémon. His team needed a Water-type in the worst way, and Tanner did not want to evolve Eevee into a Vaporeon. He had his heart set on the Dark-type Umbreon. Josh, in classic contrary fashion, decided he wanted an Espeon. Caleb stood alone in his plan to evolve his into a Jolteon by exposing it to a Thunderstone. "The old-fashioned way," he called it.

They entered Vermillion City from the north and hurried past the Item Shop, Pokémon Center, Pokémon Fan Club, and the Gym. Looking at the lightning bolt graffiti on the side of the building reminded Tanner to seek out a Ground-type Pokémon as well. Caleb mentioned something about Diglett Cave running rampant with Diglett and Dugtrio, and the species was known for being fast. While a great choice to counteract Electric-type, Tanner tried to visualize one on his team and shook his head. He wished Sandile was native to Kanto. His cousin trained one from Unova and swore by it.

"Tomorrow's troubles can wait until tomorrow," he mumbled.

"What'd you say?" Josh asked.

"Nothing. Just thinking aloud. Come on! We're almost there."

They reached the docks on the southeast part of town running at a full sprint. Their hurry might have been in vain, however, as the line to get checked in still snaked its way from the plank, down the dock, and around the corner.

"Guess we didn't need to rush after all," Caleb said, as if reading Tanner's mind. Josh huffed impatiently and tapped his foot to music only he could hear. Caleb buried his face inside of his PokéDex, and Tanner contented himself with shifting his weight from one leg to another in silence until he thought of something to do.

"Hey, Caleb, can I borrow your Old Rod to do some fishing while we wait?"

"Sure!"

Tanner assembled the rod, baited the hook and prepared to make a cast when one of the cruise employees blew a whistle and yelled at him from a megaphone.

"No fishing!"

Having made enough scenes for one day, Tanner complied and put everything back in Caleb's bag where he found it. He noticed several clothing boxes tucked away inside the bag and pondered.

"Did you go clothes shopping?" Tanner asked.

"Yeah. Josh and I went while you were out trying to catch an Abra."

Tanner flinched at the word. His search for Pikachu in Viridian Forest took hours but paid off. He only ran into one, the one he caught, but it ended in success. He ran into Abra six times and wasted five PokéBalls trying to catch one and ended up with nothing. He looked down at his threads and remembered he only brought the clothes on his back, trunks, and pajamas (though he never bothered with them at home).

"I bet they have a clothing boutique on the ship," Tanner said.

Josh smiled and bounced up and down. "Oooooo! I hope so! We still need to get pictures in our new outfits, Caleb."

"If you say so."

"I do!" he huffed.

Tanner buried himself in his phone while they waited in line. He scrolled through the conspiracy forums he followed finding nothing new and switched to PokéGram in search of fun pictures to look out and came across the gym.

"Guys, Ace Trainer Kate is on this cruise," Tanner said.

"Whaaat?! Nuh-uh! Lemme see!"

Josh pulled out his phone and logged on, finding the picture of the internet-famous trainer known by her screen name "Ace Trainer Kate." The alternative, androgynous, pansexual teenage wonder with an enviable competitive team and knack for killer photos posted a picture of her with her team in front of the S. S. Anne dated thirty minutes earlier.

_Ready for an adventure at sea! Hope all the trainers brought their A-game for the tournament. #AceTrainerKate #KantoTour #FunInTheSun #Cruise #VermillionCity_

"Shut up!" Josh exclaimed. "She. Is. My. Idol! Oh my god, I hope we get to meet her."

"What's this about a tournament?" Caleb asked. He pulled up the information on his phone and smiled. "So, there's an international tournament held on the A deck of S. S. Anne on the third day at sea. It's going to be televised worldwide and the only requirement to enter is to be a guest and have a valid Pokémon Trainer ID."

"We're totally entering!" Josh said.

"You two can," Caleb countered. "I'll pass."

"Whaaat?! No! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and you have to!"

"Yeah," Tanner said, agreeing with Josh. "Why wouldn't you enter?"

"There's no regulation as to badges, Pokémon levels, move restrictions, or anything like that," Caleb pointed out. "It's unsanctioned and I'm not here for it."

Before further argument could ensue, the cruise employee called for the next passenger. After checking their vouchers, he reserved a triple suite with a balcony for them. Bill made sure they had access to the best and most expensive cabin on the cruise. The attendant showed them to their cabin where they put down their bags and took in the glory of the room. Small, but luxurious, it would serve a sweet home-away-from-home for the five-day cruise.

Tanner kicked off his boots, ran and crashed onto the California king. Josh giggled and followed, attacking him with tickles. In a matter of seconds, Tanner subdued him and returned the favor. Caleb joined the pile with feigned reluctance until they fell asleep tangled in one another. A nap after a long day of walking proved to be just what Tanner needed too.

He awoke to find Josh's leg draped over him and Caleb's arm stretched across them both. He wiggled like a Weedle until he escaped their grasp and crashed on the floor before picking himself up to his feet. He checked the time and saw only an hour had passed. According to the agenda, the S.S. Anne would still board passengers for the next hours and the opening ceremony would start at night when they were at sea.

"A gala!" Tanner whispered to himself, reading the details on the printed itinerary. Proud of himself for remembering to bring more than one pair of underwear, he never imagined needing a tuxedo. He looked over at Josh and Caleb still asleep in bed and smiled. He doubted even a psychotic planner like Caleb remembered dress clothes and he swore to the Pokémon gods he would eat his hat with a side of ranch dressing if Josh remembered.

Rather than wake them and tip them off, Tanner made sure to snag one of the room keys and the map of the boat. He navigated through what felt like an endless hallway and staircases to reach the clothing boutique, wandering in like the ten year-old tourist he was. Racks upon racks of clothes of all sizes and styles spread out over a store the size of outlet mall.

"Good afternoon, sir," said one of the attendants. A tall, pretty blonde with blinding blue eyes approached him. "What can I help you with today?"

"Well," Tanner said. "I just found out the opening ceremony is a gala, and I don't have a tuxedo."

"Say no more! We'll get you and your Pokémon decked out! Get it? Decked out!"

She let out an absurd giggle, and Tanner choked back all his snide comments and let her lead him to the back. Here, he stood on a pedestal while employees measured him head-to-toe. In the course of an hour, they had him looking like a PokéMillionaire.

"Wow! I look good!" He ran fingers through his hair and nodded in approval.

"Now, which of your Pokémon will accompany you to the event this evening?"

"Pikachu! Charmanda! Go!"

Tanner let his favorites out of their balls. After feeding them some PokéPuffs in exchange for the promise of good behavior, staff members from the clothing store presented Tanner with all kinds of options them. The price for his tux was steep; the price for a custom-tailored tux to fit his Charmander was double the price.

"Just a black bowtie for Pikachu and a pink beret for Charmanda, please," Tanner said. He also wanted to make sure if he was going to spend the money to bling out his Pokémon, he bought things he could fit them into later. He'd never get Charmanda into a gown without catching it on fire. The thought made him laugh.

"Alright," Tanner said. "The two of you look great! Back in your balls until time for the party!"

"Pika-piii!"

"Char!"

And with that, they returned to their balls. The employees tried to sell him a special dress belt for his tuxedo to accommodate his PokéBalls, but Tanner declined. The pockets in the suit jacket worked just fine and didn't cost an arm and a leg. He changed back into his street clothes, zipped the tux up in a clothing bag, thanked the staff for all their help, and strolled out of the store whistling to himself.

A loud foghorn sounded, marking the departure of the boat. Tanner was surprised to find it lurch in tandem with the waves and to feel the acceleration of the engines as the journey began. There were still a few hours before the ceremony tonight. He ran back to his cabin and hung his clothes up on the hanger. Caleb and Josh weren't in the cabin when he arrived but left a note saying they had gone to get some food.

His tummy grumbled at the thought of food, so he set out to find them. The luxury cruise ship had food stations on both ends and on several tiers. His friends failed to say whether they went port or aft, and when he couldn't find them, he decided to dine by himself. He got in line for the station that offered paninis and smoothies and waited patiently for his turn. Something about the girl in front of him made him wonder. He thought he recognized her olive skin and long, cascading brunette curls.

"I'll take a ham and swiss panini, and a banana-berry smoothie, please."

"Coming right up," the clerk said.

The girl pulled out her phone and prepared to take a selfie. Unable to resist the temptation, Tanner positioned himself behind her in such a way as to photobomb the shot. He made his silliest open-mouthed smile as she snapped the shutter. Backing off as she checked the shot, she laughed out loud and spun around.

"You just photobombed the hell out of me," she teased.

"Sorry," he laughed. "I'll stay out of it this time if you want."

"Nope. I commit to all my selfies before I post them. My followers love stuff like that."

As soon as the word "followers" came out of her mouth, Tanner recognized her and gasped. She looked at him in surprise and gave a half-hearted smile.

"Holy shit!" he exclaimed. "You're Ace Trainer Kate!"

"Shhhh!" she said. "You're the first person to recognize me. I don't want to draw attention."

"I'm so sorry," he said, trying not to gush. "I'm Tanner."

"You can call me Katie," she said extending a hand. "Are you on PokéGram? Do you follow me?"

"Yes, and yes! My screen name is Ott Tanner."

Ace Trainer Kate (Tanner could not bring himself to think of her as "Katie" yet) scrolled through her phone posting the picture and tagging him in it. Tanner was certain he was going to shit his pants out of sheer delight—especially imagining the look on Josh's face when he saw the post.

_Oh my god I can't believe I'm going to miss that_.

"I followed you back," she said. "I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all!"

"Oh my god!" Ace Trainer Kate exclaimed. "You have a Charmander! I love Charmander! I have one too. Do you have yours with you?"

"Charmanda! Go!" Tanner said, letting her out of her ball. Watching Ace Trainer Kate squeal with delight as she baby-talked his Pokémon was surreal.

"Miss, your sandwich and smoothie are ready!" the clerk said. Ace Trainer Kate turned to get her food.

"You and Charmanda should join me after you get your food. We can take a picture together. Hashtag: Charmander for life!"

Tanner agreed, ordered the first two things on the menu, and hurried to join his new friend. They made small talk and he was so happy to learn his favorite celebrity was just a down-to-earth Pokémon trainer with a knack for photography and social media.

"You have to meet my friend Josh," Tanner said. "He worships you and wants to be just like you."

"JosherXD?" she asked, holding up her phone.

"Yeah, that's him!" Tanner said with surprise.

"Yeah, he's doing my photo challenge on his journey to Kanto," she said. "He's got a lot to learn, but the kid's got a natural eye. He'll go far if he keeps it up."

"He can't decide between being the Kanto champion or being PokéGram famous," Tanner said.

"He shouldn't have to," Kate said. "Why don't the three of us have a little triple date tonight at the opening ceremony?"

"My friend Caleb is with us too," Tanner explained.

"The more the merrier! Alright, I've added you to PokéConnect in case you need to get in touch. I'll see you tonight!"

They concluded their lunch and Tanner sat there soaking in the moment. A nice long vacation aboard a luxury cruise liner was turning out better than he could have possibly imagine. It talk all of three hours before he bought his first tuxedo and met a celebrity. Who knew what else would happen.

_BOOM!_

"What the—!"

An explosion sounded from the other side of the ship. A bright pillar of fire shot into the air followed by billowing black smoke. The ship rocked so hard it knocked several tables and chairs over on the deck. Tanner pulled himself to his feet as the passengers moved in one direction or another to reach safety.

An empty pit formed in his stomach as he realized this came from the other food deck where his friends probably were. Without a second thought to his own safety, Tanner took off towards the explosion, going against the crowd running to get away.

_Hold on, guys! I'm on my way!_


	9. Team Specter

—**9—  
**_Team Specter_**  
****CALEB**

Caleb woke up from his nap feeling famished. He looked over at Josh, asleep cuddled up next to him and smiled. Though he had to pee something fierce, he decided to stay there and enjoy the moment for a while. Looking around as much as he could, he realized Tanner left. Hunger won out, and he gently woke Josh from his nap

"You hungry?"

"Starving," Josh replied.

"Let's go find some food."

Together the rose from bed and changed their clothes into something more appropriate for a cruise. Their shopping spree in Cerulean City worked to their advantage. Dressed in colorful button-downs and khaki shorts, the two of them looked ready to party.

"This place is bigger than I thought," Josh said as they walked the hallways on the way to the food deck.

"It's like one gigantic hallway," Caleb said, looking ahead and then behind.

They found the food deck without trouble. Unable to agree on cuisine, they went their separate ways so Caleb could get sushi and Josh could get chicken strips and fries.

_Someday I'll help him to enjoy the finer things in life._

A strange individual caught Caleb's eye. Standing near the promenade balcony, he dressed in all black save for the purple designs starting from the hem of his pants all the way to the hood of his shirt. Complete with a face mask to cover all but his eyes, it created a silhouette of a Ghost-type Pokémon called Haunter.

"Interesting…" Caleb muttered to himself. He continued waiting for his turn to order, when another individual caught his eye.

This young woman dressed in all white from head to toe save for bright blue flame designs. Her hood came to a point like a candle wick with puff of blue fabric for the fire to give her the appearance of a human Litwick.

"Can I help you, sir?" the clerk asked.

Snapped back into present awareness, Caleb looked up at the menu and ordered a platter, not even bothering to check if the items on his dish were ones he cared to eat. His eyes wandered all around, finding more individuals dressed in some strange Ghost-type cosplay.

He took his platter and found Josh waving him from a table in the middle of the deck, all smiles. Caleb came and joined him.

"What's wrong?" Josh asked.

"Nothing," Caleb dismissed.

"You're lying. I can always tell when something is bothering you."

"You see the girl standing on the promenade deck?" Caleb asked.

Josh looked around. "The one dressed like a Litwick?" Caleb nodded. "What about her?"

"Check out the guy coming down the stairs behind you—the one dressed like a Haunter."

"What about him?" Josh inquired.

"I don't know," Caleb admitted. "Something off about them."

"They just look like cosplayers to me," Josh said with a shrug. "It's their vacation too. If they want to dress up like their favorite Ghosts then who are we to say otherwise?"

"I suppose you're right," Caleb said. "How's your food?"

Before Josh could answer, a deafening boom followed by a fiery explosion sent him from his seat sprawling across the deck. Ears ringing, eyes filled with spots, Caleb struggled to rise to his hands and knees. He called out Josh's name. Though he knew he said it out loud, he could hear nothing save the high-pitch ringing in his ear. All around him, tables and chairs had been overturned, plates of food smeared across the deck. People scatted in all directions, some of them tripping over Caleb, others stepping on him to get away.

A bright, purple light flashed overhead, drawing Caleb's gaze upward to one of the individuals dressed in Ghost-type clothes. In her hand, she held a glowing orb of some sort. Bolts like lightning sizzled across the deck, striking people as they tried to run. Caleb watched as the woman struck fell to her knees. All the PokéBalls dangling from her purse opened. More bolts of purple lightning zapped her companions, paralyzing them.

Watching in horror as the orb floated from the woman's hands to the center of the deck, long snaking torrents spread out, hitting people first, forcing their Pokémon out of their balls, and then striking them. Once a bolt connected with something, it remained. It lit up the food deck like a plasma sphere.

"Josh!" Caleb called out again. The ringing in his ear faded and his vision returned as he recovered enough equilibrium to rise to his feet. The state of disarray on the deck made it impossible to determine where they were sitting, let alone where Josh had gone.

Dozens more of the people in ornate Ghost-type attire emerged from all exits, preventing people from escaping. The lightning from the orb seemed not to bother them, and when they summoned their Pokémon, they too were immune to the effects of the orb. Without exception, each of them commanded a Ghost-type, and had no issues with having them use their moves on people. Lick to paralyze them. Hypnosis to lure them to sleep. Anything to keep them in range of the orb and its tendrils of lightning.

Caleb looked back at the first woman struck. A silhouette made of energy like a reflection separated from her body. The same thing happened to her Pokémon a few seconds later. In what Caleb could only describe as their souls leaving their bodies, orbs of lightning carried the energy to the orb's core.

"Butterfree! Use Confusion!"

Caleb turned and found Josh at the edge of the deck battling some of the trainers terrorizing the other passengers. Their Ghost-type cowered at the Psychic move. The trainers took off running too. Josh must have commanded his Butterfree to use its move against the trainers. That was against the law, but considering the circumstances…

"Poliwag, Go!"

Caleb took a stand against the trainers and their Pokémon too, commanding his Pokémon to use Hypnosis to lure them to sleep. The spirits of more people left their bodies and floated towards the center of the sphere.

"Resistance is futile, foolish child!" this came from a man dressed like a Golurk. "Behold the reckoning. The advent of Team Specter is upon you at last. Lend your spirit to the soul stone and become a part of something greater than you've ever dream."

"I'll pass," Caleb muttered under his breath. The trainer's Golurk lumbered towards him, its fist preparing to attack him directly. He hesitated for just a moment, but his Poliwag came through for him. Washing away the attacking Pokémon with a Bubblebeam attack. He even took the initiative to target the trainer too.

Other trainers took the initiative to fight back as well. One guy even leapt out from the balcony overhead and attempted to grab the glowing orb. As soon as he made contact, the electric energy caught him in its clutch, holding his body suspended above the food deck. His remaining Pokémon came out of their balls and suffered the same fate.

"What's going on here?"

Caleb turned and saw Tanner standing at his side, Charmanda and Pikachu both out and ready to battle.

"These creeps in the Ghost suits are using this orb to steal people's souls!" Caleb explained.

"It's a great honor to offer up one's spirit for the return of Darkrai," a man dressed as a Trevenant said. His Pokémon prepared to use Frenzy Plant on them.

"Pikachu, Thunder Wave! Charmanda, Ember!"

The trainer stood paralyzed in place and the flames fainted the Ghost/Grass attacker in one shot. A girl behind him Caleb thought he recognized commanded her Charmander to come out and prepare for battle too.

_Is that…Ace Trainer Kate…?_

"Charmander, use Dragon Rage!"

With the three of them and their teams standing together, they overcame the nearby Team Specter member's with relative ease. Josh faired well from his place across the deck, but Caleb wanted to be close to him. All it took was one stray bolt of lightning to…

"Oh no!"

One of the bolts struck Josh, but something strange happened. The bolts surging to hold the nearby trainers and Pokémon at bay disappeared. A thick pillar of surging lightning converged on Josh, dragging him to the middle of the deck. Caleb, against his better judgment rushed to Josh's aid. A small, logical part of his brain told him it was a bad idea but seeing Josh in danger gave him over to a reckless abandon. He worried the energy my gather him up and steal his spirit as it had done others, but instead it zapped him and sent him sprawling backwards across the deck.

"What's happening?" Tanner asked.

"We've got to stop it!" Caleb replied.

"You can't stop it once it's started," a standing member of Team Specter said.

"I never knew we'd find the one we were looking for so fast!" another exclaimed.

"Right here on the S. S. Anne!" Another chimed in

"The boss will be so pleased"

Caleb stood to his feet and prepared to unleash his entire team but stayed his hand. Kate and Tanner possessed more than enough power between them and their teams to handle the Team Specters goons. Instead, he kept his eyes fixed on the orb, wondering what he might do to stop it.

"You guys keep them busy!" Caleb said.

After calling Poliwag to return, he sprinted to the nearest spiral staircase leading him up to the promenade deck. He brought himself as close to the orb as he dared, studying it to see if he could figure out how to disengage it. Thinking back on what he learned about electricity in school, he needed something to ground it.

_But I don't have a Ground-type yet_.

Water molecules separate when exposed to water. It sounded dangerous, but it was the only shot he had. And if he didn't act quickly, the orb—the soul stone—would consume Josh permanently. He summoned Poliwag back and pointed at the targer.

"Poliwag, use Bubblebeam, but use it in a quick burst so the electricity doesn't hit you!"

Poliwag gave a nod and followed the instructions. It seemed to have some effect on the electricity, but not enough to stop it entirely. While Caleb was the kind of trainer who believed in letting people and Pokémon grow at their own pace, a Politoed with Drizzle ability would have been very helpful to him in this moment.

_Think, Caleb! THINK!_

He looked down at Tanner and Kate. Still teamed up to make quick work of Team Specter, his Bellsprout and her Tangela were using their vines to whip the trainers while their Charmander belched fire at the Ghosts. Caleb smiled as he reached down and felt the ball at his side.

"Bulbasaur, go!"

He threw the ball down on the food deck in a spot already cleared by Kate and Tanner. One of the trainer's Gastly's tried to battle him and Bulbasaur quickly put it to sleep with Sleep Powder without having to be told.

_This just might work._

"Bulbasaur, Josh is in trouble! Wait until the lightning fades a little and then snag him with your vines to drag him back to safety. Poliwag! Use Bubblebeam just like you did before!"

Poliwag unleashed another torrent of water, just enough to disrupt the lightning. Bulbasaur reached out and snagged Josh by the ankle with his vine and pulled. Caleb cheered when Josh pulled free, unconscious, but no longer trapped. Caleb watched as the soul stone fell from the place where it floated and onto the food deck. Before he could protest or do another thing, several of the Team Specter members dashed to get their hands on it.

"Get the kid!" one of the Team Specter members said. "He's the one the boss has been looking for!"

"You get the hell away from him!" Tanner said.

"We'll burn you down if you take another step closer!" Kate added.

Their Charmander banded together to make a torrent of fire exponentially hotter than anything they might conjure alone. The put themselves between Josh and Team Specter, protecting Josh from harms way. Bulbasaur didn't have to be told to do that either. It's twin vines came from within its bulb swatted away any of the Pokémon or trainers daring to come near. Caleb moved as fast as he could towards the spiral staircase, trying to join the fray

"The soul stone is safe!" she said. "And we have enough energy. Let's get out of here!"

"Right!"

Ghost Pokémon from all over returned to their balls in quick succession. Caleb came to stand alongside Bulbasaur as the trainers dropped smoke pellets, limiting visibility for their getaway. The girl dress like a Litwick looked down at Josh and them back up at Caleb with a sinister wink.

"We'll see each other again real soon," she said. The pellet dropped before any more conversation could ensue.

"Josh, are you okay?" Caleb knelt beside him, cradling his head. Relieved to find his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm and a strong heartbeat when he felt his pulse, he tried to shake him awake.

"Don't move or touch him!" This came from one of the cruise staff members—medical personnel by the looks of things. "Let's get him to the infirmary!"

Powerless as the medics came with a stretcher and carried Josh away. Caleb stood back, tears welling in his eyes as fearful thoughts flooded his brain. Tanner rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure he'll be okay," Tanner said. "This is Ace Trainer Kate."

"Hi," Caleb said, extending his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"You can call me Katie," she replied. "I hope your friend is going to be okay. I'll go with you to the waiting room if you want."

"Could we?" Caleb asked, looking to Tanner for support. His friend gave a nod and the three of them climbed stairs, took elevators, and walked long decks to find it.

"Who were those guys?" Caleb pondered aloud.

"They called themselves Team Specter," Kate replied, nose buried in her phone. "According to the local forums, they're bad news. Apparently, they're organized like the old crime syndicate Team Rocket, but they're way creepier than that."

"What do you mean?" Tanner asked.

"They train Ghost-type Pokémon but only those that died terrible deaths and returned to this world as vengeful spirits searching for rest. According to this bulletin board, they've taken over the Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town, made it their headquarters and chased all the people who lived there away."

"What about that thing they had with them?" Caleb asked. "The called it a soul stone."

Kate shook her head. "There's nothing here mentioned about that. Apparently Ghosts are so thick around Lavender Town now, the place has been officially declared haunted by the Kanto league and unsafe for trainers to tread."

"Why do you think they were interested in Josh?" Tanner inquired. That's a question Caleb felt like they needed to know, but he sure didn't want to.

"When the energy from the stone hit him, it reacted differently than with everyone else," Caleb remembered. "In fact, as soon as the energy snatched him, it set all of the other people and their Pokémon free."

"Maybe Josh will have something to say once he wakes up," Tanner offered. Caleb grimaced. He worried about the amount of energy surging through Josh causing permanent damage. The worst-case scenario of brain damage, coma, and death filled him with anxiety as he slipped into silent contemplating.

They reached the infirmary but was stopped by the medical staff there. When they demanded to see Josh, they informed them he was in good hands, receiving the best medical care available on the ship. They were told to wait outside and would be called when he was fit for visitors.

"I guess now all we can do is wait," Tanner said. He rested his hands behind his head and leaned back to make himself more comfortable on the waiting room loveseat. Ace Trainer Kate busied herself with making social media posts and reading more about Team Specter. Caleb tried it for a while, but his mood kept him from focusing on anything by Josh. Instead, he contented himself to pace the floor as if trying to wear the carpet away. Every round he looked up at the clock ticking away on the wall, measuring how much time passed.

One hour.

Two.

Finally, a nurse opened the infirmary door and stepped out. This one didn't look like the nurses at the Pokémon centers, much to Caleb's relief. If he heard one word about Stepford Wives or Chansey-clones, he might lose his mind. Caleb rushed forward to meet her, Tanner and Ace Trainer Kate brought themselves to their feet to join him.

"He's stable, and he's conscious," the nurse said. "It looks like he's going to be just fine. We recommend he go to a hospital and get more tests done once the boat makes port; our resources are limited here. He's asking for you."

"Me?" Caleb said. "Can we see him?"

"Yes, but one at a time," the nurse said. "It's small quarters in there and too many people might crowd or upset him."

Caleb gave Tanner a look to tell him everything he needed to know. He offered a nod in reply as Caleb followed the nurse back into the tiny infirmary. She led him to the bed furthest inside where he found Josh attached to an IV and a heart monitor. His clothes had been removed and he lay in bed wearing a hospital gown. He smiled when he saw Caleb; it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Caleb said, kneeling by the bed.

"I saw their plan," Josh said. "I know what they're trying to do."

"Who?"

"Team Specter," Josh replied. "They're trying to bring Darkrai back from the dead."

"Don't worry about them now," Caleb said. "They're gone now, and if they ever come back they're going to be sorry."

Josh reached out clutched Caleb's hand. He looked at him with determination Caleb had never seen before in his eyes.

"He's coming for me," Josh said, and then he nodded off to sleep.


	10. PokéGram Famous

—**10—  
**_PokéGram Famous_**  
****JOSH**

"And you don't remember anything after the incident?"

Josh shook his head.

The doctor aboard the S. S. Anne shined a flashlight in his eye and moved it back and forth to follow. Josh did his best not to blink or let it bother his eyes. He sat on the table covered with paper and waited while the doctor took his vitals.

"The other passengers hit with the same energy suffered serious injuries. One woman and her Pokémon are dead. From what your friends said you were hit by more energy than any of them. How do you explain that?"

Josh shrugged.

"You're lucky to be alive—your Pokémon too. I recommend making an appointment with your primary care physician as soon as we make port in Vermillion City, young man. We don't have the equipment and staff here to adequately diagnose you."

"Diagnose?" Josh inquired. "You said I'm fine."

"I said you appear to be fine," the doctor corrected. "You certainly fared better than most of the others."

"So…am I free to go?"

The doctor chuckled. "You're not a prisoner, young man. Take it easy."

"I'm on vacation," Josh said with a grin. "That was the plan before Team Specter showed up and ruined everything."

Josh waited until the doctor left and took advantage of the privacy to change out of the hospital gown and slippers back into his clothes. He gathered his PokéBalls and put them on his belt where they belonged. He took a long look at his reflection, failing to see anything out of the ordinary. Satisfied, he moved from the infirmary into the waiting room where his friends waited for him.

"Hey, guys!"

Caleb jumped up from his seat and rushed over to wrap him in a big hug, so tight a squeeze it made Josh grunt. He smiled and returned the embrace. When Caleb let go, Tanner approached to take a turn. After him, a girl he recognized straightaway stood across the room offering a friendly wave.

"You must be Josh," she said, approaching with her hand extended.

Unable to form a response, Josh managed to smile, blush and nod. Fumbling for words, nothing of noteworthy articulation followed.

"Josh, this is Ace Trainer Kate," Caleb said.

"I know who she is!" he snapped. "I follow you on PokéGram and I'm in love with everything you do. It's so great to meet you, Ace Trainer Kate."

"Please, call me Katie," she said. "All three of you. Fans call me Ace Trainer Kate; friends call me Katie."

"Katie," Josh said, tasting the name on his tongue. "It will take some getting used to, but I think I can adapt."

"What did the doctor say?" Caleb inquired.

"That I'm lucky to be alive," Josh replied. "I feel fine except I don't remember anything."

A curious, skeptical eyebrow crawled its way up Caleb's face as he gave a reluctant nod. Hands in his pockets, he started a nervous pace across the floor, the way he did when something didn't add up in his mind. Josh wanted to press him, ask what's wrong, but decided to save it for later.

"How do you feel?" Tanner asked.

"Hungry," Josh admitted. That got a round of laughs from his friends. "Stupid Team Specter attacked before we could finish our lunch."

"There will be food at the ceremony tonight," Katie said. She opened her phone and looked at the time. "It starts in an hour. Why don't we see about getting a table for four? I trust you boys have something appropriate to wear."

"Appropriate?" Caleb asked.

"It's a gala," Tanner interjected.

"A gala?! I don't have a tux!"

"Better hurry to the boutique before it's too late!" Tanner said.

"Come on, Josh," Caleb said, taking him by the hand. "We'll meet you there."

The two of them rushed to the boutique. With all the commotion, they found no other customers with which to compete. Everyone was probably spooked because of what happened a few hours earlier. Rather than get their suits tailored, a they found a matching set to fit. Caleb went with a classic tie while Josh chose a bright purple bow tie to set him apart.

The tuxes cost a pretty penny but made the two of them look like a million dollars, so Josh thought it worth it. The employees wanted to sell them dress clothes for their Pokémon as well. They nearly hooked Josh, but Caleb reminded him they were running late and didn't want to keep Ace Trainer Kate waiting.

"It's Katie," Josh corrected. "She said to call her Katie."

"Whatever," Caleb huffed. "Let's hurry down to the main dining room."

"I want to stop by the cabin first."

"Josh, that's in the opposite direction!"

"I'm going to be eating dinner with my celebrity hero and you're not going to rob me of the opportunity to take pictures!"

His tone left nothing in the way of discussion. Caleb rolled his eyes and grumbled the whole way, but Josh didn't mind. They made it to the cabin, retrieved the camera, and walked back to the main dining room with two minutes on the clock left to spare. They found Katie and Tanner waving them over. Josh took the lead to sit down at the table. One look at the dishes, silverware, and white linen tablecloth and he knew they were in for a treat.

"You boys look so spiffy!" Katie said. "Everyone, look this way!"

She held her phone up in front of her. They leaned together to fit in the frame as she snapped a selfie and busied herself with her next social media update. Josh took the opportunity to retrieve his camera and start taking pictures.

"Oh wow!" Katie exclaimed. "I love your camera! So vintage."

"Thanks," Josh replied with a blush. "It belonged to my dad."

He almost explained more, but changed his mind not wanting to damper the experience with the topic of dead parents.

"Are you boys going to participate in the tournament?" Katie asked.

"Josh and I plan to," Tanner replied. "Caleb is still on the fence."

"What's the matter, Caleb?" she inquired. "Battling not your cup of tea?"

"I like it just fine," he replied. "It's just that this is not regulated. There're no limits to level, number of badges for a trainer, Pokémon used in battle. I prefer sanctioned matches."

"With the exception of the prize money rule," Katie countered. "You defeat one of these snotty rich kids in a Pokémon battle, and they have to forfeit half their dough to you on the spot."

"Snotty rich kids have the money to buy the rights to use legendary Pokémon," Caleb argued. "It's all fun and games until one of them calls out Lugia and wipes the floor with your whole team."

"What's your plans after the cruise?" Katie asked.

"We're traveling Kanto together, acquiring the badges, and making our way to Indigo Plateau to compete," Josh replied. "We didn't take on the gym Vermillion City on our way in because we would have missed the cruise, so I guess we'll do that when we get back."

The four of them enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the opening ceremony. The three of them took turns being Katie's dancing partner. Josh was the best dancer, of course, but he was surprised to find Caleb had no trouble keeping up. He asked to partner up with Josh, but he was too embarrassed to dance with a boy in front of everyone and declined. Instead, he and Tanner danced with each other when it was time to pair up, no shame between them

They talked Caleb into competing in the tournament. It was a doubles tournament and none of them won. Some hotshot trainer from Unova cleaned house with a fearsome Volcarona. Instead of snubbing his nose at the "snotty rich kid," Caleb wanted to know if he could meet the trainer's team and add their entries to his PokéDex. Josh shook his head and rolled his eyes. He neglected using his most of the time and knew he was falling behind in entries but didn't care. His goal was to be a trainer, not a researcher.

Josh made sure to take as many pictures as possible and emailed some of the good ones to his mom to keep his promise. Many of the others, he posted to PokéGram and PokéConnect, making sure to tag Ace Trainer Kate in any of the ones she or her Pokémon appeared.

"Caleb!" he exclaimed. "Look! I got two thousand new followers overnight."

"That's amazing!"

"Before too long, they'll start calling you JosherXD to your face instead of your name," Katie promised. "The donations and fame are cool, but it comes with some downsides."

"Does TrainerToday follow you?" Josh asked. Katie nodded. "I think half of my new followers came from them sharing my post of the tournament."

"Keep your photos good quality, showcase a variety, and don't use filters. They'll share you with the masses every time."

By the end of the cruise, JosherXD was PokéGram-famous. The world might not know his face or his real name, but the social media community in Kanto got a taste for his photography. He planned to stop by the specialty shops in Celadon to get a tripod and find ways to take snapshots of his battles.

"I could take them for you," Caleb offered. "I know how to work a camera."

"You're supposed to take them yourself," Josh explained. "That's the whole point."

When the S. S. Anne made port in Vermillion City and it came time to say goodbye to Kate, Josh found himself more emotional than he anticipated. They traded numbers and screennames. She planned to journey to Fuchsia City and visit the Safari Zone. They all hugged a million times and said their goodbyes. Josh wiped a tear from his eye when they parted ways.

"We'll see her again," Caleb assured.

"I know," Josh replied. "It's just hard to say goodbye after a week of having so much fun, you know?"

"What do you say we stop by the Pokémon Center and then head to the gym to take on the leader?" Tanner suggested. "Winning badges always makes you feel better."

"He's going to schedule a follow-up appointment with the doctor," Caleb said sternly. "That's what the doctor on the S. S. Anne said to do."

"Caleb, I'm fine!" Josh complained. "I need a win after that tournament."

Complaining and scolding the entire way, Caleb trailed behind as Tanner and Josh went to the Pokémon Center and then the Vermillion City gym. True to its reputation for being an annoying kind of gym, Josh found the lobby full of trainers ready to battle and trash cans. Yes, trash cans. Some old army vet named Lt. Surge hid switches in the cans that kept the gym leader hidden behind two electric beams.

_This is stupid._

He let Tanner and Caleb battle the trainers while he dug through the trash cans one at a time looking for switches. It took the better part of fifteen minutes to go through every single one, but after a while he found them both and the beams came down.

The gym leader was a young woman in her late teens or early twenties. With bright blond hair, tan skin, and green eyes, she looked a lot like the trainer portrayed in the picture behind her. Dressed in brown boots, army green short-shorts, and a black belly shirt, she showed off an athletic body tanned to perfection. She might have been pretty, but the short, spiky hair and bigger muscles than most men gave her an intimidating, masculine demeanor.

"Challengers from Pallet Town!" she greeted. "The name's Dazzle."

"How did you know we're from Pallet Town?" Tanner inquired.

"Call it a woman's intuition," she replied. "I'm kidding. I follow JosherXD over there on PokéGram. Love your work. Are you as good in battle as you are behind a camera?"

"You're about to find out!" Josh challenged. "Nidoran, go!"

Josh worked with Nidoran a little aboard the S. S. Anne. After making sure she practiced her moves, Katie let him use a technical machine to teach her the Dig attack. Many trainers posted Diglett Cave on the online forums as a solution to help counter the Electric-type Pokémon at the Vermillion gym. After their misadventures in Mount Moon, Josh decided he didn't enjoy caves. Wandering around in the dark in hopes a wild Pokémon with an ability preventing trainers from escaping sounded terrible.

Dazzle chose Voltorb as her first Pokémon. Its Sonicboom attack gave Nidoran some trouble to start, but after feeding her some protein supplements on the cruise, her attack proved top notch and knocked it out with a single hit. When her Pikachu came out next and used Quick Attack, Josh really thought he was in trouble. Luckily, Nidoran survived the attack long enough to administer a Potion. In another stroke of serendipity, her Poison Point ability affected Pikachu. Between it and a well-placed Dig attack from Nidoran, the Pokémon fainted. At last, Dazzle brought out Raichu, her champion.

This Pokémon hit harder and faster than Josh's Nidoran, but Poison Point came through for him again. He administered Potions to keep Nidoran in the match, letting the poison run its course. Dazzle proved willing to sink some Super Potions on her Pokémon but had not thought to prepare against poison. Taking a page from Caleb's battling handbook, Josh remained patient, willing to wait until Raichu weakened.

"Nidoran, use Dig!"

The attack was super-effective and fainted the opponent's Raichu, ending the match. Dazzle called her Pokémon back to its ball and stood with a smile on her face. Nidoran glowed with a familiar light and Josh smiled too. After training hard with Nidoran earlier, he expected this and hoped it would happen after his match. After a few sparkling moments, Nidoran evolved into a Nidorina. He came over and patted his Pokémon in congratulations, careful to avoid her poisonous barbs.

"I'll take my Thunderbadge, please!"

"There's one more thing you have to do," Dazzle said.

"Bullshit!" Tanner exclaimed. "He won fair and square; you have to give him a badge. It's like the Kanto League rules. Tell her, Caleb."

"I'm not sure you're allowed to refuse a trainer a badge who beat you in a sanctioned Pokémon battle," he replied with an official tone. "I suppose we can consult the rules if there's some confusion here, of course."

"You'll get your badge," Dazzle said. "Just as soon as you pose for a selfie with me!"

"What?"

"Huh?"

"For real?"

"Come on!" Dazzle pleaded. "It will take like ten seconds. Come over here. We'll get Nidorina in the background and I'll hand you the Thunderbadge just like this."

Happy for another photo opportunity, Josh let Dazzle put her arm around him and snap the picture as he reached for his Thunderbadge. Nidorina looked fierce and happy in the background offering a photogenic pose.

Dazzle posted the photo to her pages with a million and one hastags, one of which was Josh's screen name. It cascaded into more followers and friend request. A few dozen came in every minute. It looked like it might go viral.

Caleb and Tanner took their turns battling Dazzle. Josh made sure to take plenty of pictures and post the good ones to his pages. The photos not featuring him or his own Pokémon didn't perform as well, but people still liked the hell out of them, shared them, and fetched him some more followers.

"This is crazy!" he exclaimed.

Pokémon evolution was such a rare and beautiful thing, people rarely caught it on camera. Unless one counted documentaries or scientific study footage, and Josh did _not_ count those. Caleb's Bulbasaur evolved into Ivysaur, and Tanner's Charmander evolved into Charmeleon. After the battle, Josh set his camera up on a table (he needed a new and better tripod than the one in his bag) so the three of them could pose with their evolved starters.

"It's a good picture," Caleb said. "Are you going to post it?"

"Nope," Josh said. "This one is special. It's not for everyone, just us. I'm sending it to Mom and she's going to frame it and hang it on the wall."

Josh stood in the middle with Wartortle at his feet. Caleb knelt by Ivysaur to the left, and Tanner held Charmanda (yes, he still insisted on calling her Charmanda) in his arms with a big cheesy grin. Glad he took his mom's advice and started taking pictures and seeing them pay off in a way he never expected, Josh knew he'd been taking a lot more pictures.

"Hey, Josh," Caleb said. "Something's wrong with the picture."

He pointed to a purple silhouette around Josh. With a frown, they tried taking another one. The same silhouette appeared hovering around him.

"Let's try another one with Tanner in the middle since he's the tallest," Josh suggested. He expected the overexposure to show up in the middle of the frame where he once stood, but instead it followed him to the right. "That's weird. Let's try it with my phone."

Finally, they managed to snap a photo without the weird hovering light surrounding Josh and sent the digital photo to his mom's email. He went through the other pictures from his dad's camera and found a similar halo floating around him in every picture. It troubled him more than he expected, fearing it somehow connected to what happened with Team Specter aboard the S. S. Anne.

"Everything okay?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah," Josh lied. "It's fine. I think I'm going to have to replace the lens on this old thing. Dad took good care of his stuff, but everything wears out eventually."

"I'm sure we'll find a place in Celadon to get you set up," Caleb said. "Shall we stay the night and plan to head that way?"

"We're not going through Rock Tunnel and into Lavender Town?" Josh pondered.

"No amount of money in the world could possess me to take that route with Team Specter having taken over," Caleb replied. "No time for sight-seeing when you're busy becoming a champ and a social media star. Celadon, here we come!"

"Can't wait," Josh said, forcing a smile. When Caleb turned away Josh started going through the photos again, deciding the silhouette around him formed an awfully familiar shape. It looked like a Haunter was hovering around him. He wanted to say something to Tanner and Caleb but didn't want to worry them. He tucked his camera away and decided to keep it to himself.


	11. Summer Job

—**11—  
**_Summer Job_**  
****TANNER**

Tanner sat at a table with an umbrella at one of the lawn chairs furnished by the public beach in Vermillion City. A pad of paper before him and pen in hand, he looked down at his notes.

_**Caleb**__: Ivysaur, Poliwag, Zubat, Eevee_

_**Josh**__: Wartortle, Butterfree, Pidgey, Nidorina, Eevee, Clefairy, Oddish_

_**Tanner**__: Charmeleon, Pikachu, Eevee, Bellsprout, Spearow_

While he sat taking inventory of his items and checking his PokéDex entries for wild Pokémon in the area, Caleb and Josh played on the beach with their Water-type Pokémon. Poliwag and Wartortle took turns wading into the ocean, tackling the waves as they crashed into the shore. Their trainers, barefoot and in their trunks, joined their Pokémon. Both seemed fish out of water, enjoying every moment.

_I need a Water-type Pokémon,_ Tanner realized, looking at his team. He slacked in the area of catching new Pokémon and tended to use Charmanda and Pikachu in battle. Poor Bellsprout and Spearow had only left their balls once or twice he could recall. Eevee, on the other hand, he let out to play all the time, but only at night in hopes it would grow up to be the tough-as-nails Umbreon.

"Eevee can evolve based on how well it likes its trainer," Caleb had explained. "It will become an Espeon in the daytime and an Umbreon at night."

Among his virtues, patience ranked least for Tanner. While confident in his ability as a trainer, he watched Josh and Caleb grow their team and it kept him on his toes. Perhaps he might borrow Caleb's Old Rod after all and spend the day trying to catch something worthwhile.

"There's only Magikarp around here," Caleb warned.

"Magikarp become Gyarados someday," Tanner countered.

Then again, not wanting to deal with a floppy fish Pokémon for weeks before it decided to evolve, he thought a Goldeen or even a Poliwag might serve him better. With a better rod, he might catch a Shellder or Horsea—maybe even a Tentacool. When trying to plan out his team, Tanner like to think of the Pokémon based on their final evolutions. A fierce Dragon trainer named Claire from the Jhoto region oftentimes brought her Kingdra to competitive league matches. Dragons always appealed to Tanner's sense of adventure, but then came the patience problem once more. Dragons took _forever_ to evolve.

Instead, he took to wandering the city, window shopping at the mart, and talking to people who looked interesting. Before he knew it, he found himself on Route 11 battling the trainers that liked to hang around there. Gamblers, youngsters, engineers, and a few gentlemen with their Growlithe. Tanner called upon Eevee, Pikachu, and Charmanda to make swift work of their teams and earn him some prize money.

"Good job, Eevee!" Tanner said, praising his partner.

"Eevee!"

He scratched behind his ears and offered him a PokéPuff after every successful battle. Not wanting to play favorites, he did the same for the other prize members of his team, seeing no harm in developing a strong bond with all his Pokémon.

When he suffered a surprise loss on the S. S. Anne he didn't expect, Tanner learned to take Caleb's advice when it came to prize money. He stopped by the bank and deposited his funds into a secure account. While he relinquished immediate access to the money, were he to lose a match unexpected, he'd save himself a huge loss.

After the trip to the bank, he decided to go down into Diglett's Cave and let Bellsprout take a crack at the Diglett and Dugtrio down there. It took several Potions and Ethers to keep his Pokémon in fighting shape, but it beat the hell out of climbing out of the cave and scurrying back to the Pokémon Center to heal up.

"Whoa!" Tanner exclaimed. "That was fast!"

Bellsprout evolved into a Weepinbell before his eyes and he never felt prouder. Now, if only he could find some Bug-type or Fighting-type Pokémon to help his Spearow grow strong, he would feel like he accomplished something today.

Tanner climbed out of the cave. The nice gentleman at the entrance informed him that the others side emptied out on Route 1 near Viridian City and Pallet Town. That came as a surprise to Tanner considering it was so close to his hometown and he'd never heard anyone mention the entrance to Diglett's Cave being so close.

"As long as you don't mind encountering the wild Pokémon every few steps or so, and you have a good Grass-type or Water-type to take them on, it's actually the shortest route back home."

"You're from Viridian City?" Tanner inquired.

"Pallet Town, actually," the man replied.

"Me too! Thanks for the info. I'll keep that in mind in case I every decide to go visit home for the day. Weepinbell should be able to handle those Diglett no problem."

Tanner walked out of the mouth of the cave and into the bright sunshine of the afternoon. Squinting until his eyes could adjust, he blinked and wiped involuntary tears from his eyes. As he walked back to town and passed the beach, he saw Caleb and Josh were still fast at play with their Water-type Pokémon.

_They're battling._

Poliwag and Wartortle faced off in a friendly duel, trading Tackles, Doubleslaps, and Bubblebeams between the two of them. Josh emerged the victor after a while, but Caleb didn't seem too disappointed by it from where Tanner stood. Having never battled Caleb, he wondered how the two of them might match up. Comparing the types, he felt Pikachu would make quick work of Zubat and Poliwag, and Charmanda could take on Ivysaur no problem. The rest was anyone's guess, he supposed.

Turning north to reach the Pokemon Center, Tanner handed his team over to the nurse and, for once, decided not to harass her about being a gene spliced Chansey clone. He took a seat and buried his nose in his PokéDex, returning to the list of wild Pokémon in the area only to find quite a few that struck his fancy. Mr. Mime, Drowzee, Chansey, Combee, Magnemite, Heracross, Plusle, Minun, and Shinx.

"Casey had a Shinx," Tanner remembered aloud. While not the Water-type he set his heart on, he liked the idea of a fast and strong Heracross with Fighting-type moves or a strong Psychic-type like Mr. Mime.

"Excuse me, sir."

Tanner looked up. Standing before him was a man in his early twenties, a bird keeper kind of trainer by the looks of him. He was about five-ten and had sandy blond hair like Josh's. His blue eyes shone bright as he extended a hand.

"Can I help you?"

"I couldn't help but notice that you have a Spearow on your team."

"That's right."

"Well, it just so happens that I'm on the lookout for a Spearow," the trainer explained.

"You can find them in the wild on the routes near Vermillion and Cerulean," Tanner said. "That's where I caught mine."

"That's the issue. See, I'm no good at battles and I'm not very good at catching Pokémon. I only deal in bird Pokémon too. I have a rare Farfetch'd here I'd be willing to trade for a Spearow if you interested."

Tanner thought for a moment. He found it hard to believe a trainer willing to relinquish a Farfetch'd for a common Spearow. The trainer offered Tanner a sheet of statistics for the Pokémon and almost leapt from his speech. Bred from excellent stock, this Farfetch'd allegedly knew moves like Night Slash, Steel Wing, Leaf Blade, and Roost. It's attack potential blew his Spearow's out of the water.

"You know what?" Tanner said. "I'll make that trade."

"That's great! Let's step upstairs and use the machine to make it official."

The bird keeper led Tanner to the upstairs portion of the Pokémon Center. Here, two clerks waited next to a machine.

"We'd like to officiate a Pokémon trade, please."

"Make sure your Pokémon are in their balls and place them on the tray," the clerk replied. Tanner and the bird keeper did as they were told. A conveyor belt brought both balls inside. After some whirling and some lights, the balls came emerged from inside. Tanner reached up and picked up the PokéBall on his end. Farfetch'd had been changed over and registered as belonging to him now.

A pang of guilt hit him as he watched the bird keeper take the ball holding Spearow. Tanner had not bothered saying goodbye or explaining his intention to trade the Pokémon away. He worried how scared Spearow might be to emerge from his ball and find himself under the care of a different trainer.

"I'm going to take good care of Spearow," the bird keeper said. "Don't you worry."

"You read my mind," Tanner replied with a smile. "I'll take good care of Farfetch'd too. He'll make a fine addition to my team. By the way, I must ask, where did you find a Farfetch'd that knew all these amazing moves? He must have had a really stellar trainer."

"Not a trainer," the bird keeper replied, "but there's a Pokémon breeder on Route 5 who runs a daycare for Pokémon. If you leave two compatible Pokémon with him sometimes an egg will appear. He and his wife are popular in the Kanto region. Their son can tell you all about how Pokémon pass on individual values, learn egg moves, and even inherit the nature of one parent or another. It's all a bit technical, but he can explain it better than I can."

"Hey, thanks man," Tanner said, reaching out to shake his hand again. "What did you say your name was?"

"It's Henry."

"I'm Tanner and it's been a pleasure. Get with me on PokéConnect."

They descended the stairs and parted ways as they hit the automatic doors on the center. Grinning from ear to ear, Tanner thought to go tell Caleb and Josh all about his outrageous trade. A quick glance at the beach found them both still fast at work training their water Pokémon. From the looks of things, Caleb's Poliwag evolved to become a Poliwhirl.

_Good for him._

Rather than interrupt their fun, Tanner sent them text messages to let them know he planned to visit this Pokémon Daycare center for himself. He turned and made his way north through Vermillion City, took the underground tunnel for nigh on the hundredth time, and emerged on Route 5. The guards at the posts between routes still insisted the road was "closed" due to their overwhelming thirst. It made no sense to him, but Tanner figured stranger things had happened. He read a forum today explaining that sleeping Snorlax blocked the roads preventing travel and wondered why people didn't just go around.

Because of the layout, Tanner had to climb further north and uphill on the route and jump down to get to their Daycare. He walked in to find an elderly woman smiling behind the counter. From over a half-wall, Tanner spied a Nidorina and Nidorino nuzzling each other affectionately. An old man thumbing through a magazine sat on a chair, not bothering to look up. A younger man in his early twenties, probably their son busied himself in the back, carrying a pile of black bags.

"Good afternoon, young man!" the woman greeted. "How can we help you today?"

"Hi there. My name's Tanner and I am interested in breeding Pokémon."

He spent the rest of the afternoon learning about the couple and their business. Dan and Judy ran a business on providing care for Pokémon. They trained the ones they cared for at a slow and steady pace which usually resulted in the Pokémon being stronger when they left than when they arrived. They explained how eggs worked and how a Pokémon with the Flame Body ability helped hatch them quicker.

"It's not uncommon for trainers to hatch a dozen eggs before finding one with the abilities they're looking for," Dan explained.

"What does someone do with a dozen baby Farfetch'd?" Tanner wondered.

"They trade them, sell them, or release them into the wild. It all depends on the trainer's discretion. Our part is to care for them while they're here. You'll meet all kinds of rising stars in this business. Ace trainers with their perfect team in mind come and go every day to collect eggs and check on their Pokémon."

"I guess that's why the trainers in the League have Pokemon with such outrageous moves," Tanner pondered aloud. "Last year, a trainer named Chance Evans battled with a Blastoise that knew moves like Aura Sphere and Dragon Pulse."

"Oh, we know Chance," Judy chimed in. "The Squirtle he raised and took to the league was hatched right here in this room. We took care of its parents."

Tanner shook his head in disbelief. What a wonderful opportunity! He wondered if anyone had taken the time to record the moves a Pokémon might inherit and which natures worked best for which Pokémon.

"You know, we could use some extra help around here if you're interested in a job," Dan offered. "It doesn't pay much, but our son's off to university in the fall. If you start working now, he'll have enough time to train you before he leaves."

"I'm traveling the region in preparation to compete in the League," Tanner objected. "My friends and I are traveling together."

"Kanto's not so big," Dan scoffed. "Long sturdy legs like yours will have no problem biking here to help out when you can."

"I don't have a bicycle."

"Judy! Get Tanner here one of those vouchers the shop keeper gave us!"

"Yes, dear!"

"You said you were traveling with two boys your age too?" Dan asked.

"Yeah," Tanner replied. "Caleb and Josh."

"Judy! Make it three vouchers!"

Judy returned with three tickets and handed them to Dan who in turn gave them to Tanner. He thanked him and put them away in his backpack. Perhaps this would work out just fine. With Snorlax blocking the road ahead, and Caleb forbidding them to go through Rock Tunnel to get to Lavender Town on account of Team Specter, he and his friends were stuck in Vermillion for the time being. Tanner couldn't imagine Josh having any interest in a summer job, but Caleb might jump on the opportunity to learn a trade not taught in a book.

"Thank you so much for the vouchers," Tanner said. "I'm going to talk to my friends and see if they'd be interested in helping out too. If that's okay."

"The more the merrier!" Judy replied. "There's plenty of work to be done around here and plenty more to learn if you have an interest in Pokémon care."

Tanner thanked Dan and Judy again. He stepped out into the warm afternoon air and leaped from the landscape surrounding the Daycare to the road below. Running the whole way, too excited to slow down, he cleared the underground path in what he imagined to be record time. Even taking the long way on the route to avoid the tall grass, Tanner reached the beach at Vermillion City in no time at all.

Panting and covered in sweat by the time he caught up to Caleb and Josh, he fell over and collapsed at their feet. Caleb knelt down next to Tanner, the concern evident in his tone.

"Are you okay?"

"Bicycles…Pokémon…Daycare…breeding…" Tanner sputtered.

"Why don't you let him catch his breath first," Josh suggested. "He sounds like a raving lunatic right now."

Under normal circumstances, Tanner would retaliate with attitude or a wry expression, but he was too excited. After he caught his breath, he sat up and told Josh and Caleb all about his amazing day. Beginning first with evolving Weepinbell, moving with acquiring Farfetch'd in a trade. He stopped here to let Farfetch'd out of his ball, introduce himself and his friends and get acquainted with his new partner. Even with its Adamant nature and proclivity for mischief it proved to make friends very fast. When introductions finally concluded, Tanner managed to tell them about his visit to the Daycare. He told them about Dan and Judy, the bike vouchers, and the opportunity to work and make some money. Josh and Caleb replied at the same time with pretty much the responses Tanner expected.

"Sounds boring."

"Sounds amazing!"

"I'm not spending my summer working at a Daycare when I could be training Pokémon and earning badges," Josh objected.

"You're not thinking about the big picture," Caleb argued. "Imagine the opportunity for your photography! Instead of having to travel the region, trainers from all over will bring their Pokémon to us. We'll get to care for them, help train them, and even breed them. I bet we'll get to see an egg hatch. Can you imagine? Witnessing the birth of a new Pokémon!"

Josh tilted his head back and forth, as if rattling the idea around in his brain. He smiled and gave a nod, feigning reluctance. Once the decision was made, the three of them made their way to the bike shop to trade their vouchers in for bicycles. The vouchers were for a standard bicycle painted a single color. Josh tried to haggle his way into one painted a shiny, metallic purple but the shop owner wouldn't budge.

"Why did he give us bicycles?" Caleb asked. "Don't get me wrong; I'm grateful. It just seems a little odd."

"He wanted us to have a way to move around fast," Tanner explained. "They can't keep those roads closed forever. Pretty soon we'll be able to get into Saffron City. From there, we can make our way to Celadon and Fuchsia. If we're going to commit to the work, he wants us to have a way to get back to Route 5."

"Guys! Look!"

Josh wasted no time popping wheelies and doing other tricks on his bicycle. Since it was daytime and his heart was set on evolving Eevee into an Espeon, Josh put his Pokémon on the front handlebars to allow the win to blow through his hair.

"This is going to be the best summer ever," Caleb said.

"It already is," Tanner insisted. "Come on! Let's go meet Dan and Judy so we can talk about our first day on the job."


	12. Building a Competitive Team

—**12—  
**_Building a Competitive Team_**  
****CALEB**

The next few weeks passed for Caleb in a whirlwind of busyness. Cleaning stalls, filling food bowls, walking Pokémon, playing with them for exercise, letting the Water-types out for a swim…the work never ended. Dan and Judy were right about the pay; it sucked. But the work allowed for learning opportunities unobtainable anywhere else. His PokéDex entries reached an all-time high as he familiarized himself with many coming and going. As he hoped, they watched countless Pokémon hatch with the desired abilities, individual values, egg moves, natures, and characteristics from trainers prepping their competitive teams. Once hatched, the trainers picked one and went off to train its effort values which Caleb learned yielded from battling certain Pokémon in the wild.

Todd, Dan and Judy's son, was a certified Pokémon rater. After examination, he could determine any Pokémon's individual values and gave them a score between 0 and 31. Obviously, trainers sought out and kept the ones with 30 or 31 and sold the others or released them into the wild. Caleb sat down with him one evening and brought out his team for evaluation.

"Your Ivysaur is top-notch," Todd explained. "He has perfect 31 scores for individual values in everything except for Attack, and it's a 17, which isn't bad. Looks like Professor Oak ended up with this Bulbasaur from a trainer who meant business."

"That's fortunate," Caleb replied. "I would have taken Ivysaur to the League with me regardless; he's been with me since the beginning."

"Your Eevee is the same," Todd continued. "Bill has raised Eevee for over a decade and all his come from good stock. Since it has a modest nature, I'd recommend evolving it into something geared for special attacks."

"He'll be a Jolteon someday," Caleb said. "We've discussed it already."

"Excellent choice. Now, while the Pokémon gifted to you by Professor Oak and Bill come from good breeding, but the Zubat and Poliwhirl do not. You're training them well, but you're going to need something better for the League."

Caleb frowned. He always imagined taking a team he caught in the wild to the League. After working at the Daycare, he found out the pros took a different approach. A Pokémon's effort values were the greatest contribution to its fighting ability, but every detail added another layer of complexity. It'd take months, years maybe, to breed, hatch and train a viable team of six.

_I'm not sure I have the patience for that…_

"I'm bored!" Josh whined.

_He certainly doesn't._

"Don't you have work to do?" Caleb inquired.

"I did all the things Dan and Judy asked me to, but my shift doesn't end until four o'clock."

"Help me muck these stalls," Caleb suggested. Josh shook his head. "If we finish everything, maybe they'll let us all leave early."

Josh snagged a broom and swept the hay from the nearest stall. Caleb knew the motivation of leaving early would light a fire under him. Tanner, on the other hand, might want to stay late. He enjoyed the work despite the pay and since he decided he wanted to grow up to be a Pokémon breeder considered this more apprenticeship than summer job. He even went as far as asking Todd about getting certified as a rater and found out the nearest testing facility was in Celadon City. Caleb planned to get certified too. While not required to enter the Pokémon Professor program at the university, he figured it couldn't hurt his chances of acceptance and would prove a valuable skill in the future.

After he and Josh finished up the last of the chores on Caleb's to-do list, they found Tanner looking after some Charmander being bred for competition. All of them knew moves like Belly Drum, Dragon Dance, and Outrage inherited from their parents. He let his Charmeleon play with these newborns in hope she might learn the moves by association, but no luck so far. He had, however, used his discount for Charmanda to enter the Daycare with a male Charizard and held his very first egg with a baby Charmander ready to hatch.

"You about done?" Caleb asked. "Josh and I planned to ask Dan to let us leave early since we finished everything up."

"Sounds good," Tanner replied. "I'm all done too. Just hanging out with these babies. Look how tough and robust they are! Charmanda's baby is going to be just like them."

Caleb smiled in approval. The trainer might sell these babies that were, for one reason or another, not precisely what he or she was looking for. Tanner received permission to use the Charizard as a stud, however, in exchange for her being the mother. Since the breeding was a joint venture, he had a claim to the babies as well.

"Can we have one of these Charmander?" Josh asked. "There're dozens!"

"I don't see why not," Tanner said. "Charmanda is sure to lay more eggs soon. I'll give you guys one too."

Charizard ranked among the most popular competitive Pokémon in existence. As a starter Pokémon with two mega evolutions discovered in the Kalos region, it was anyone's bet as to whether a trainer planned to compete with Charizard X, Charizard Y, or a regular Charizard with Solar Power.

"Meet us outside when you're done," Caleb said. "We'll wait for you."

He and Josh stopped in the office, cleared with Dan to leave early and clocked out. Together, they waited outside for Tanner to conclude his business. Before Caleb could suggest a battle with Josh to pass the time, his phone rang. He pulled it out and looked at his caller ID, a smile crossing his face.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Caleb!" Casey greeted. "How are you?"

"I'm well. How are you?"

"Terrific! I wanted to know if you and your friends planned on attending the Junior League tournament in Celadon this Saturday."

"This is the first I've heard of it," Caleb confessed. "We've been busy working a summer job at the Daycare on Route 5."

"The guards are opening the roads this Saturday," Casey explained. "It's going to be held in the square. They place you in divisions based on how many badges you've obtained so far."

"Nice! Me and my friends have three."

"Same here. Well, if you're not working, you should come. It will be nice to see you again. Maybe we'll get paired up and have another battle. I've been training my team hard and I hope you have too."

"You bet I have," Caleb replied. "I'll talk to Josh and Tanner, but I can't imagine anything keeping us from participating. I hope to see you there."

"Sounds good! I'll talk to you later."

Caleb ended the call and pocketed his phone, grinning ear-to-ear.

"Who was that?" Josh demanded.

"It was Casey. Remember, the trainer I battled in Mount Moon."

"Oh. What did he want?"

Caleb brought him up to speed about the tournament. This sent him spiraling in excitement. He got Katie on the phone in a matter of minutes, elated to find out she planned to attend as well. They talked more about pictures posted on their blog. Josh's followers grew daily, his behind-the-scenes photos of working at a Daycare and in Pokémon breeding trending for a day or two after each post.

"I'm so jealous!" Katie exclaimed, loud enough Caleb overheard.

"Don't be jealous," Josh said. "I'm nowhere near your follower count. I know it's just a matter of time, but still…I'm not there yet. You've—like—arrived, you know? Anyway, I'm going to let you go. I'll see you Saturday."

The stir of excitement started anew when Tanner came outside. He and Josh danced in a circle, arm-in-arm, chanting silly cheers about being the very best like no one ever was. Caleb entered planning mode and started to the Pokémon Center to make a shopping list. He needed to buy Super Potions, Great Balls, a Thunder Stone, and planned to raid the store for technical machines to teach his Pokémon new moves. He stopped at the bank and withdrew enough funds to cover the cost and now had to make sure he didn't lose any battles.

"Looks like we can only enter three Pokémon in the tournament," Tanner said. He buried his nose in his phone to look up more details.

"That's stupid!" Josh said. "League rules says you can carry six Pokémon with you."

"Tournaments can have amended rules," Caleb explained. "That's an important detail to consider, however. You need to decide which three are your best."

"Easy," Josh scoffed. "Wartortle, Nidorina, and Butterfree."

"It's Charmanda and Pikachu for sure," Tanner said. "I don't know if I should bring Weepinbell or Eevee though. What do you think, Caleb?"

"Eevee," he replied at once. "Especially if you can get him to evolve into Umbreon before we get there."

"Which three are you going to take?" Josh asked.

"Ivysaur, Poliwhirl, and Eevee," Caleb said. "But if I train Ivysaur well, by the time I get to Celadon, I'll have Venusaur, Poliwrath, and Joleon."

Tanner let out a long, low whistle.

"Josh," Caleb said. "Why don't you evolve Nidorina? You found a Moon Stone in Mount Moon, remember? That's all you need to evolve her. Or were you going to use it on Clefairy?"

"Moon Stones evolve Nidorina?" Josh asked. Tanner laughed and Caleb shook his head.

"Yes, they do," Caleb said, "and Nidoqueen is a powerful Pokémon with a wide variety of moves to learn. I hope you saved some money for some technical machines too."

"How are we going to get our teams to evolve by Saturday?" Tanner pondered.

"We battle," Caleb replied.

"We've beat all the trainers around here," Tanner pointed out. "Most won't give a rematch either."

"We battle each other," Caleb clarified. "Over and over again until our teams are as strong as they can be."

"Isn't that cheating?" Josh asked. Caleb shook his head.

"It's Thursday," Tanner said. "Will that be enough time?"

"It will if we start right now. Tanner, I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!"

They took turns battling outside the Pokémon Center into the wee hours of the night, and it paid off. Tanner's Eevee evolved into Umbreon under the light of the moon. They decided to call it a night, but this prompted Josh to switch Butterfree out for Eevee in his training the next day. He wanted to take Espeon instead, deciding the Psychic-type superior in battle to his Bug-type. Caleb agreed. Butterfree proved to be a faithful companion at the start, but the others on Josh's team outclassed him.

In the morning, Josh took to battling with Eevee. In a few hours, he became the proud trainer of a newly evolved Espeon. Unable to wait a moment longer, he called Nidorina out of her ball and exposed her to the Moon Stone. She evolved into Nidoqueen, her strength growing in tandem with her size.

In the afternoon, they worked exclusively with their starter Pokémon. Stopping only for bathroom breaks, trips to the Pokemon Center for their team, and to eat, they trained until the sun went down. None of their starters evolved, much to Tanner and Josh's dismay. Caleb didn't worry too much. He figured after one or two battles with trainers in the tournament, they would cross that threshold soon.

"Just think how cool it will be when Wartortle finally becomes a Blastoise—at the tournament!" Caleb said, encouraging Josh. "Imagine the looks on everyone's faces. Not to mention the photo op."

"You're right," he said. He turned and looked at his team. "I'm so proud of all of you! Extra PokéPuffs for everyone!"

After a heavy session in rewarding their Pokémon for all their hard work, the three of them returned to the center to rest. Caleb tossed and turned, more nervous about the tournament than he cared to admit. If asked earlier, he would have put his money on Josh being the restless, nervous one. Instead, he fell asleep next to him, head rested on his shoulder, breathing softly. Sprawled out on the couch, Tanner rolled around in fitful sleep.

_And here I am wide awake and missing out on my rest._

His thoughts strayed from the tournament and wandered into remembering the events on the S. S. Anne. While Josh forgot everything, Caleb remembered it all in vivid detail. Adamant he possessed no recollection of saying anything of the sort, Josh's words concerning Team Specter when he first regained consciousness bothered Caleb.

"I saw their plan. I know what they're trying to do."

"Who?"

"Team Specter. They're trying to bring Darkrai back from the dead."

Caleb researched Darkrai and it disturbed him. Known as the Pitch-Black Pokémon, it was said to come out on a moonless night, lull people and Pokémon to sleep, and then inflict terrible nightmares upon them. A few years ago, some trainer got his hands on a MasterBall and managed to catch Darkrai. Together, they lulled entire towns to sleep to steal Pokémon from defenseless trainers. There was an explosive battle to fight them off, and unfortunately both Darkrai and the trainer died as a result.

A chill of foreboding crept up Caleb's spine. Something about Team Specter's soul stone latched on to Josh. If their plan was indeed to bring Darkrai back to life, Caleb doubted they had any good intentions. Tanner wasn't in the room when Josh said these things, and Caleb deigned not to say anything to Josh after he claimed not to remember. He figured it was better left alone. It took a lot of persuasion to keep them from going through the Rock Tunnel to get to Lavender Town. The two of them said Team Specter didn't scare them, but they terrified Caleb. They also said something about Josh being the one they were looking for. No way he was going to be part in marching Josh straight to their headquarters. They got lucky last time.

When Caleb fell asleep, he dreamed a terrible nightmare. He dreamed they were back on the S. S. Anne battling Team Specter all over again. This time, he was not able to rescue Josh. The energy sucked him, body and soul, into the stone. After an explosion, Darkrai appeared, but as a Ghost. None of them were able to stop the Dark Void leading them into sleep, nor the eternal nightmares that followed.

Caleb awoke with a start. Perspiring and short of breath, he sat up to collect his bearings. Josh still lay sleeping but rolled over in the night to face away from him. Tanner looked at Caleb from his place on the couch, an expression of concern on his face.

"You okay, buddy?"

"Yeah," Caleb dismissed. "Just a bad dream."

The gathered their belongings, hopped on their bikes, and rode north from Vermillion City. As Casey promised, the guards opened the roads to allow travel. The entered Saffron City from the south. Since they were on a schedule, they did not take the time to visit the shops, gyms, or Pokémon Center. They took the west road on their bikes, pedaling full speed. Following the signs, they turned north and followed the road until they reached another checkpoint. The guard here allowed them passage to Route 8, the short stretch of land between Saffron and Celadon.

"Holy smokes!" Josh exclaimed. "Look!"

He referred to the sheer number of people up and about. Vendors erected colorful canopies and table to sell their wares. Trainers gathered in clusters or formed lines at registration to take place. Banners everywhere for the Junior League billowed in the wind. They called Katie and met up with her at the Pokémon Center.

"You boys are looking great," she said. "And it's so good to see you. Squeeze in for a picture!"

They huddled beneath her phone, flashing smiles while she snapped the shot. Caleb grew in popularity on PokéGram by association with Ace Trainer Kate and JosherXD. He never posted anything and lost as many followers a day as he gained.

"Which three of your Pokemon are you going to enter, Katie?" Josh asked.

"I don't kiss and tell," she replied with a wink. "It's a surprise! Make sure to check out the poll on my Connect and weigh in. All of you."

"You're going to decide your team by popular demand from your followers' votes?" Caleb asked.

"Don't spoil it!" she scolded. "Yes. That's the plan. I have a fan-base to appease."

Caleb doubted if any of Katie's team were less than stellar. He'd seen her Charmander battle on the S. S. Anne and figured the rest of her team would be ferocious as well. He hoped he might get the chance to get paired up with her. It'd be a good battle now with his team trained.

"I've got to hit the shops before I register," Caleb said. "I'm going shopping; you guys want to come."

They spent the rest of the morning shopping for things they needed. Caleb evolved Eevee into Jolteon and Poliwhirl into Poliwrath. He purchased quite a few technical machines from the store and taught them to the three he intended to enter. By the time he got in line to register, he was feeling pretty good about himself.

"Hey there, stranger."

Caleb turned around and saw Casey standing behind him. Bursting into laughter, Caleb wrapped him in a hug before he could stop himself. Chuckling awkwardly, Casey returned the embrace and pulled away.

"Didn't realize we were on a hugging basis," he confessed.

"Sorry," Caleb blushed. "I'm a hugger."

"It's okay. I'm glad to see you. You have your team ready to go?"

"I sure do. What about you?"

"I think, if all goes as planned, that I'm going to win this whole thing," Casey replied.

"What makes you so confident?"

"Well, I'm deliberately waiting to win my Rainbowbadge until after the tournament," he explained. "This will put me in a lower bracket, even though I'm ready for the next one up. If all goes as planned, I'll have the toughest team in my division."

While not a against the rules, per se, Caleb didn't care for Casey's approach. Still, he couldn't deny the logic behind it.

"You think you're ready to earn a Rainbowbadge?"

"I think so," Casey replied. "I guess we'll find out after the tournament. I'm keeping my fingers crossed we get paired."

"I'm counting on it," Caleb said.

A loud voice echoed through the square from a megaphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Pokémon and people alike: please give a round of applause as we begin the first annual Junior League qualifiers!"

The crowds erupted with cheering as a mass exodus of people migrated to the square in the middle. Caleb finished registering in time and moved to the designated area for trainers on deck. He found Katie, Tanner, and Josh standing together and moved to join them. Casey waved at him again from across the way. Blushing and smiling, Caleb waved back.

"You can stop gushing whenever you'd like," Josh complained.

Caleb ignored him. The announcer started calling the trainers to the square battlefields and matching them up. It was really happening. Caleb could not have been more excited.


	13. Tournament in Celadon

—**13—  
**_Tournament in Celadon_**  
****JOSH**

"Eric from Saffron City and Tanner from Pallet Town, please make your way to field number three!"

Josh looked over at Tanner who was visibly trembling with excitement. His foot bounced off the floor until he heard his name. In a flash, he stood to his feet, hopped a little and shook the nerves loose.

"Wish me luck, guys," he said. Josh smiled and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You don't need luck. You're an amazing trainer and this guy doesn't stand a chance. Get out there and show him what you're made of."

"We'll be cheering you from the sidelines," Caleb added.

Tanner smiled at each of them in turn and then made his way to field number three. Josh and Caleb followed, taking their place behind the lines on Tanner's side. Eric, his opponent, was a little older, maybe thirteen or so. He wasn't as tall as Tanner, and even skinnier, but the look of determination in his eyes showed from across the field. He looked like he meant business.

"Prepare your Pokémon, and let the match begin!"

Tanner and Eric each retrieved a ball hanging from their belts and pressed the button for release. They threw them on the field together at the sound of the horn per the rules of the tournament. As expected, Tanner chose Charmanda as his first contender. Luck favored him today as a furious Beedrill emerged on Eric's side.

"You got this, Tanner!" Josh cheered.

"Go, Tanner!" Caleb and Katie yelled out similar cheers. She came to stand beside them at some point before the match started. Like a social Butterfree, she floated around from person to person, taking selfies and signing autographs. Josh tried not to be jealous but looked forward to the day his fame earned him public recognition like hers.

"Beedrill! Use Fury Attack!"

Beedrill swarmed Charmanda, stabbing with its stingers, landing several hits but not enough to faint her.

"Charmanda, trap that Beedrill in a Fire Spin!" Tanner called out.

Belching fire from her mouth, Charmanda engulfed Beedrill in flames, causing super-effective damage.

"Beedrill, follow it up with a Poison Jab!"

Ignoring the flames, Beedrill came in for another attack and hit its mark, stabbing Charmanda and inflicting poison upon her. All their prior training the last few days paid off because it was still not enough to subdue her.

"Charmanda! Finish the fight with an Ember attack!"

Another torrent of flames spurted over the field and her aim proved true. Writhing, Beedrill fell to the floor, fainted. Eric called his Pokémon to return and prepared to release his second contender. In normal League rules, Eric was required to name his Pokémon and give Tanner a chance to switch in response. Tournament rules forbade this, forcing Tanner to leave his poisoned Charmanda on the field to fight.

"Dugtrio, go!" Eric threw his second ball to reveal the triplet mole Pokémon.

"Charmanda, return!" Tanner said. He pressed the button, aimed the beam, connected with his Pokémon, but nothing happened.

"Amateur!" Eric called from across the field. "Dugtrio's Arena Trap ability prevents you from switching. Dugtrio, use Dig."

Dugtrio burrowed into the ground, disappearing. Charmanda reeled from the poison damage still afflicting her. The use of items was prohibited too, so no Antidotes for his Pokémon either.

"You're not getting off that easy," Tanner said. "Charmanda, use Protect!"

Charmanda braced herself for the attack, negating any damage it might have caused. She reeled again from the poison, teetering as if close to fainting.

"Looks like you should have invested more in your Pokemon's speed," Eric called out. "My Dugtrio is still faster than your Charmeleon! Dugtrio, finish her off with a Slash attack!"

Charmanda fainted, much to Tanner's dismay. The effects of Arena Trap prevented him from switching an active Pokémon, but not a fainted one. He called Charmanda back and reached for the second ball on his belt.

"Umbreon, it's your turn!"

"Dugtrio! Return!" Eric called out.

"Umbreon, use Pursuit and land an attack before Dugtrio retreats."

The Dark-type Pokémon possessed a whole arsenal full of impressive tricks that suited Tanner's style. His Umbreon landed a vicious blow, a critical hit, just before Dugtrio disappeared back inside its ball. Eric growled with frustration but it didn't stop him from continuing the battle.

"Ratticate! Go! Use Quick Attack!"

Josh noticed a speed-oriented theme with Eric's Pokémon. His high-speed team allowed him to land attacks first in most cases. Having battled Tanner and his Umbreon enough times now to know he could swing this to his advantage, a smile crossed Josh's face in anticipation of what happened next.

Umbreon took the hit in stride, its high defense helped him take hits like a champ. In fact, it was part of Tanner's strategy.

"Umbreon! Use Payback!"

The damage was devastating. The crowd went wild at the one-hit-KO as Ratticate fainted. Eric called back Ratticate and unleashed Dugtrio to finish out the match. It took a hit from Umbreon on its first retreat, but still looked to be in fighting shape.

_For now._

"Dugtrio! Use Slash attack!" Eric commanded. It was a critical hit, but even with a high-attack Dugtrio, Umbreon endured.

"Umbreon, Confuse Ray!"

"Dugtrio! Dig!"

The Confuse Ray hit its mark before his Pokémon retreated. Josh saw the disorienting look in the eyes of the Dugtrio before it disappeared in the ground once more. It managed to set up the attack but failed to follow through and hurt itself in its confusion upon emerging.

_Now it's over._

"Umbreon, use Last Resort!"

While they're Pokémon knew a whole slew of moves, once again, per the tournament rules, only four per Pokémon were permitted. After having used his other three attacks, Last Resort set Umbreon up with the potential for devastating damage.

"Dugtrio has fainted!" the announcer called out. "Tanner from Pallet Town wins the match."

Eric called his Pokémon back and crossed the field to shake Tanner's hand, per tournament rules, but didn't look happy. Josh, Caleb, and Katie cheered Tanner all the way back to the stands where they showered him with hugs and high-fives.

"You did great!" Caleb praised. "Great thinking using Pursuit!"

"I'm going to go heal up," Tanner announced. "Got to prepare for my next match-up. I bet one of you guys will battle first."

He left them to go find the mobile machine borrowed from the Pokémon Center that restored the health of his team. At least the tournament rules allowed for healing after matches. Otherwise, by the time the finals came around, the contenders would only have one Pokémon left, clinging to consciousness.

"Josh from Pallet Town and Katie from Cinnabar Island, please make your way to field number one!"

Josh's heart stopped for a moment, but when he looked over at Katie, she flashed a smile. Though they didn't say it with words, they said enough with the looks they exchanged. It was a tournament, and a strong probability the two of them would have to battle one another. Josh had hoped it wouldn't be at the start. He wanted the four of them to make it to the semi-finals, but no such luck. He was nervous, however, because the only member of Katie's team Josh was familiar with was Charmander. While that didn't scare him, he knew they didn't call her Ace Trainer Kate for no reason.

"Good luck!" Katie called out to him from her place across the field. Her smile turned to a competitive smirk. "You're gonna need it!"

"We'll see about that!" Josh called back. He reached for his first Pokémon and she did the same. They waited for the sound of the horn and unleashed their Pokémon at the same time. The balls landed across from one another on either side of the middle line.

"Go, Nidoqueen!"

"Go, Lucario!"

Josh pulled out his PokéDex and aimed the lens at her Pokémon.

"Lucario: the Aura Pokémon. They can detect the species of a living being—and its emotions—from over half a mile away. They control auras and hunt their prey in packs."

_Steel/Fighting-type_, Josh observed. _I've got type advantage here._

"Lucario, use Metal Sound!"

_But not the speed advantage._

Lucario emanated a high-pitched squealing sound, aiming the waves at Nidoqueen. Josh didn't know what the attack did, and wished he paid more attention to the move-of-the-day blogs Caleb followed to keep himself educated about Pokémon moves.

"Nidoqueen! Use Double Kick!"

While not a strong attack, it was super-effective and hit twice. Lucario took the hits in stride, showing no sign of weakening.

"Lucario, use Calm Mind!"

Josh knew this move. While researching good move sets for his Espeon, Calm Mind came up as a suggestion in the forums. It raised Lucario's special attack and special defense. Katie's strategy played out for him and he thought about switching to another Pokemon, but decided to rely on another strategy.

"Nidoqueen! Use Dig!"

Nidoqueen burrowed underground, safe from whatever Lucario's next attack might be. Katie proved to have a plan of her own, however.

"Lucario, use Endure!"

Lucario braced itself for impact. Nidoqueen's Dig attack would have been devastating, but Lucario held fast, still in the fight.

"Lucario! Use Psychic!"

Nidoqueen fainted. The super-effective attack proved to be a devastating, one-hit-KO. Josh called back Nidoqueen and prepared for his next Pokémon.

"Go, Wartortle!"

"Lucario! Use Metal Sound!"

Katie used Lucario's last move in the round to hit Wartortle with the attack. Josh figured it probably lowered special defense of a Pokémon considering how terrible the Psychic attack had been. If it were him, he would have done damage to Wartortle while he had the opportunity.

"Wartortle, finish Lucario off with a Bite attack!"

Lucario fainted. Katie called back her Pokémon and released the next one.

"Politoed! You're up!"

Josh was surprised to see this Pokémon. He'd looked through Katie's PokéGram a million times but did not recall seeing her with this one. Its Drizzle ability appeared to be working as the rain clouds gathered overhead and the downpour started. Many of the people in the crowd moaned and groaned (they didn't think to bring umbrellas), but Josh ignored them. He liked the idea of rain just fine, knowing Wartortle's ability.

"Politoed! Use Scald!"

A torrent of steam barraged against Wartortle. It was not a very effective hit, but the rain boosted the attack and Wartortle's lowered special attack made it hurt more. Luckily, the attack failed to leave a burn, much to Josh's relief. Caleb told him burns lowered a Pokémon's physical attack and he could not afford that in this fight. The Rain Dish ability allowed Wartortle to gather more health and kept him in the fight.

"Wartortle, follow up with a Bite attack!"

This continued back and forth for a while, neither Pokémon able to get in with the kind of super-effective attacks a trainer hopes for. The gods favored Josh, and he landed the fainting blow on Politoed. Katie called him back and prepared to unleash her third and final Pokémon.

"Ninetails! You're up!"

Josh was excited at the Water-Fire matchup until he remembered the hidden ability some Ninetails have. The rain faded and the sun shone with cloudless intensity. This boosted Fire moves, dampened Water moves, and took the field advantage from Wartortle. He prepared for this however in taking Caleb's advice about technical machines and moves designed for strategy.

"Ninetails! Use Safeguard!"

A veil protecting it from status changes materialized. Josh shrugged. If it were him, he would have hit with a Flamethrower while he had the chance, but since it worked to his advantage, he carried on.

"Wartortle! Use Rain Dance!"

The sun faded behind clouds once more, drawing another set of booing from the crowd, but Josh ignored him. If he was going to be the champ someday, he had to learn to be ruthless and not worry about what others thought of him.

"Ninetails, use Extrasensory!"

The psychic attack was nearly enough to do poor Wartortle in. If not for the rain, Josh suspected he would not have been able to get in another attack.

"Wartortle! Use Bubblebeam!"

Ninetails fainted and the announcer declared Josh the winner. He never felt so proud of himself. He beat Ace Trainer Kate in the tournament and only had to use two Pokémon to do it. He looked over at Caleb who was cheering his head off. He gave Josh a wink and blew him a kiss, making him blush. Katie came over to shake his hand.

"You did good, kid! Great battle!"

"You too! You have some truly amazing Pokémon!"

"Hey, thanks! I'm proud of my team and I thought I picked the best three. You never know what's going to happen until the match-up though. I planned to beat you and make you take pictures of me for the rest of the tournament, but since that's not going to work I'm going to need your camera!"

"Huh?"

"I'm going to capture all your wins to post on PokéGram, silly. Don't worry; I know it's your dad's and I promise I'll be careful."

Josh reluctantly relinquished his camera to Katie when they made their way back to the stands. He could tell by the delicate way she handled it she would be careful, and his mind went at ease. Relishing in his victory, he let Tanner and Caleb shower him with accolades and tried not to let it go to his head; one wrong move command and he might botch the whole match. Or maybe he would get paired with someone lucky enough to have type-advantage. He wasn't counting it a victory until it was over.

He made his way to the machine to heal up his Pokémon. By the time they returned his Pokémon, the next match had been determined.

"Casey from Twinleaf and Caleb from Pallet Town, please make your way to field number four!"

_Uh oh._

Josh put the balls back on his belt and hurried over the field. The rivalry between the two of them was explosive the first time around. It was Caleb's battle with Casey that convinced Josh Caleb was a viable trainer. He always figured he'd be the nerdy, know-it-all professor-in-the-making. After watching him put his big sexy brain to use in a battle he probably should have lost, Josh was counting on him coming through again.

Caleb and Casey took their places across the field and Josh watched with eager anticipation for the match to begin.

"I've been waiting a long time for my rematch," Casey called out. "You got luck last time, but I've been working hard. Let's see what you got!"

"You're on!" Caleb called back.

They threw the balls to release their Pokémon together, calling out their names.

"Ivysaur, I choose you!"

"Staraptor, go!"

Josh grimaced. Casey won the type-advantage here by a longshot. He saw Caleb shake his head in dismay as he used his move to call Ivysaur back.

"Jolteon, you're up!"

"Staraptor, use Whirlwind!"

His Staraptor flapped its wings in such a clamor as to force Jolteon back into his ball. Per the rules of the tournament, it forced Caleb to choose one of his other Pokémon at random. His Poliwrath hit the field and faced off with another type disadvantage.

"Staraptor! Aerial Ace!"

The hit was super-effective and critical. Caleb's Poliwrath fainted before it even got the opportunity to fight back.

"Oof!" Josh exclaimed under his breath. Tanner shot him a dirty look.

"Jolteon, go!" Caleb announced.

"Staraptor, return! Go Luxray!"

"Jolteon, use Dig!" Caleb commanded. Casey's eyebrows went up in surprise at the attack, but quickly faded into a victorious smile.

"Luxray, return! Go, Staraptor!"

"Oh, come on!" Tanner exclaimed. Josh didn't like it any more than he did but could not deny the sound strategy behind the decision. Jolteon emerged with his Dig attack and the attack of opportunity counted for nothing as Flying-type were immune to Ground-type attacks.

"Staraptor, return! Go, Torterra!"

"Is he just going to keep switching out?" Josh demanded. "He just refused to fight unless he has type-advantage!"

"It's working," Tanner conceded.

"Jolteon use Pin Missile!" Caleb said with his command of opportunity. It was a super-effective hit and the first Caleb managed to land on Casey the whole match so far. With the speed advantage, he got another attack after that. "Jolteon, use Sand Attack!"

"Sand Attack?" Josh exclaimed. "What is he thinking?"

"Torterra! Use Earthquake!"

The lowered accuracy did nothing to stop the attack. Jolteon fainted, knocked out in a single hit. Caleb already had a look on his face that spoke of defeat. He called Ivysaur out to the field.

"Torterra, return! Go, Starptor!" Casey switched once more.

"Ivysaur use Sleep Powder!"

The attack missed. The crowed let out a gasp, knowing it was all over.

"Staraptor! Aerial Ace!"

Ivysaur fainted and the announcer declared Casey the winner of the match. Josh shook his head. He knew it must have been hard for Caleb to watch him and Tanner win their first matches only to lose to Casey in the first round.

_It was just the bad luck of the draw._

"I lost," Caleb said.

"It's okay," Josh offered, rubbing his arm. "Casey's team is top-notch, and he had type-advantage on you at every turn."

"Good match, Caleb," Casey said. Josh scowled at him, sure he had come to gloat. He expected Caleb to clap back with a snarky remark, but instead blushed, smiled and shook his hand. Josh rolled his eyes, disgusted. Casey was cute, and Caleb had a weak spot for cute boys.

"You have a good team and you're an amazing trainer. You're going all the way to the League with a team like that."

"That's the plan," Casey said. "We're one and one, by the way. I'll let you have a rematch when you're ready."

"I'm counting on it," Caleb replied.

"I'll let you have rematch when you're ready," Josh mocked as Casey walked away to heal up his Pokémon. Caleb gave him a sour look. "What? I don't like that guy."

"Why?"

"He kept switching out!" Josh said. "And then he came to rub in your face."

"Nah!" Caleb dismissed. "It's just a little bit of friendly rivalry. Next time we battle, my team will be unstoppable."

Josh commended Caleb in this: he handled defeat well. Josh cried when he battled Tanner and lost in Viridian City. He'd cry again if he lost, probably. He and Tanner were lucky enough not to be matched against each other in the next rounds, and lucky enough not to be matched against Casey either. Much as he didn't like the guy, Josh could not say he was looking forward to battling that stellar team from Sinnoh.

"He should only be allowed Kanto Pokémon," Josh complained.

"Not all of my Pokémon are from Kanto," Katie reminded him.

"Yeah, but I like you so the rules shouldn't apply to you."

They giggled at this and came to look at the roster. Josh, Tanner, and Casey all made it to the quarter finals. They called a one-hour intermission for the tournament to give trainers the chance to prepare. Many of the losers packed their bags and went home with their tails between their legs. Caleb and Katie determined to stick around and cheer on their friends. Josh healed up his Pokémon and waited, ready to emerge victorious no matter what it took.

_If only Wartortle would evolve…_


	14. The Quarter Finals

—**14—  
**_The Quarter Finals_**  
****TANNER**

"I think I speak for everyone when I say the last announcer was lackluster and forgettable. So, I'll be taking over from here. Hello, everyone! And welcome to the Celadon City Junior League Tournament quarter finals. You know me as Ace Trainer Kate, and while I might not have made it very far, rest assured, these contenders have some fiery hot battles in store for you!"

Tanner looked around as the crowd went wild. Even the ones having never heard of Ace Trainer Kate felt the electricity in the air as she nabbed the microphone and took over. It sounded like something Tanner might do, but since he was still in the competition, he needed to keep his head in the game. Having peeked at the roster, he knew his next match awaited.

Caleb must have sensed Tanner's nerves. He stood behind him rubbing his shoulders and clapping him on the back. Josh snuck away, maybe to heal up his Pokémon or maybe to deal with his nerves on his own. Tanner took a deep breath and waited for Katie to continue.

"After demonstrating unprecedented skill against Eric in the previous round, Tanner from Pallet Town emerged victorious and is ready to face his next challenger. Does he have what it takes to face off against Victoria from Fuchsia City and her tough-as-nails Steel-types? There's only one way to find out!

"Challengers! Make your way to field number two and get ready to battle at the sound of the horn. Come on, folks! Let's cheer them on! I want to hear you make some noise!"

The crowd went wild and Tanner chuckled, thinking Ace Trainer Kate might have a career as a Pokémon match-caster in the future. Something about having a friend behind the microphone gave him an extra boost of confidence.

"Get out there and show her what you're made of," Caleb said. He gave Tanner a smack on the butt.

His opponent was almost as tall as he was. She dressed in a dark gray gi and wore her jet-black hair in a tight bun. Dressed like a ninja, he figured her to be one of the resident trainers in the Fuchsia City gym, but then wondered why her team consisted of Steel-type. They were renown for Poison-type.

_Get your head in the game. It's about to start._

The horn sounded and he threw out his first Pokémon at the same time she did.

"Go, Pikachu!"

"Go, Steelix!"

_Shit._

"Quite a matchup, ladies and gentlemen!" Katie chimed in. "How will the electric mouse fair against the iron snake! Don't look away!"

The Steel/Ground-type meant Pikachu's electric attacks counted for nothing. The high defense stat of this Pokémon and resistance to almost everything promised a swift defeat if Tanner didn't play his cards right. He wished he had listened to Caleb and saved money enough to purchase a Thunderstone. Red, a champion from decades ago was famous for opting to keep his Pikachu unevolved all the way to the League. Tanner wasn't that sentimental, especially when other trainers accused him of being so once they saw Pikachu as a part of his team.

_I should switch out but if I do, her Steelix will get an attack of opportunity I cannot afford. Let's do this!_

"Pikachu, use Dig!"

"Pikachu burrows underground, folks!" Katie announced for those unable to see from their vantage.

"Steelix, use Rock Throw!"

Since Pikachu was nowhere to be found, the move had no effect. Steelix proved to have great aim as the rock landed where Pikachu had been only moments before. Tanner watched as Pikachu emerged from underground and attacked Steelix with a super-effective attack. Despite the type-advantage here, the move didn't do much damage he could see. The Pokemon's outrageous defense kept it strong and in the fight.

"Steelix, use Rock Throw!"

The rocks smashed Pikachu, sending him skittering across the field. While not a super-effective hit, the combination of Steelix's attack and Pikachu's less-than-impressive defense made it so. Another hit like that, and Pikachu would be down for the count. It would take four or five Dig attacks to bring Steelix down.

_I've got to take the chance, or I'm going to lose._

"Pikachu, return! Go, Charmanda!"

"Steelix, use Rock Throw!"

By some serendipitous miracle from the gods, the attack missed. Good thing too. It would have been a super-effective hit and potentially fainted Tanner's star Pokémon in one hit. Umbreon and Pikachu could probably bring Steelix down eventually, but who knew what Pokémon this trainer had in store. Tanner had missed her first match because he'd been busy with his own against Eric.

_I guess we'll find out._

"Charmanda, use Ember!"

The hit was super-effective. While Steelix's defense was unmatched, it possessed no proclivity for enduring special attacks. Weakened by Pikachu's Dig attack, the Steelix fainted from the blow and Victoria called it back to return. She hit the button on her next ball and threw it out to the middle of the field.

"Go, Lucario!"

Tanner should not have been surprised. Lucario was another one of those super-popular Pokémon trainers from all over the world coveted and trained. Its versatility in attack and special attack, move pool, potential mega evolution, and pop culture exposure changed it from rare to cliché in Tanner's opinion. However, he wouldn't mind having one of his own.

"Lucario, use Bone Rush!"

_Uh oh._

The super-effective attack hit only twice, and Charmanda managed to cling to conscious long enough to fire back. Tanner was not expecting Lucario to have the speed advantage here and it became clear to him Charmanda's training was far from over.

"Charmanda, use Ember!"

The super-effective hit bathed Lucario in flames. It shrank back and fell to one knee, clinging to consciousness when it should have fainted. Tanner grit his teeth and notice for the first time, a Focus Sash in Lucario's hand. The item served a single purpose: to prevent one-hit-knockouts. And it did its job.

"Finish this, Lucario, with another Bone Rush!"

While the attack would have probably continued for three or four hits this time, statistically speaking, it only took one for Charmanda to faint. Tanner called back his prize Pokémon and decided it was time to get daring.

"Pikachu, go!"

"Lucario, return!" Victoria called out as she brought her Pokémon back. Tanner hoped for this. Since Pikachu outclassed Lucario in the way of speed and knew Quick Attack, it guaranteed a victory. This left her no choice but to switch out and hand Tanner an attack of opportunity on a silver platter. And this is where he took a gamble, having no idea what Pokemon she might bring out next.

_Not a Ground-type, not a Ground-type, _Tanner prayed.

"Magneton, go!"

"Yes!" he exclaimed under his breath as the Electric/Steel-type emerged from its ball and took its place on the field. "Pikachu, use Dig!"

"Magenton, use Protect!"

The attack of opportunity ended up fruitless, but Tanner wasn't worried. With Ground being super-effective against both Steel and Electric, it would only take one. The more a Pokémon used Protect, the more likely it was to fail.

"Pikachu, use Dig!" Tanner commanded.

"Magneton, use Protect!"

It failed. Pikachu's attack came in like a wrecking ball but to Tanner's surprise, Magneton sustained the attack.

"My Pokémon's Sturdy ability is just as good as a Focus Sash," Victoria taunted. "It cannot be fainted in a single attack."

_I'm seeing a recurring theme here._

"Yeah, yeah! Get on with it!"

"Magneton, use Tri-Attack!"

The attack was not enough to faint Pikachu, but it's added effect was enough to induce a burn. Tanner seethed silently on his end of the field as the burn damage fainted Pikachu. Now, Victoria's only Pokémon were clinging to consciousness by a thread. It should be easy enough to defeat her now.

"Umbreon, go! Use Pursuit!"

While not very effective and better used when an opponent was switching out Pokémon, it was easy to land a KO on Magneton. Victoria switched it out for Lucario. Here, she had the speed advantage and could land a super-effective hit, Tanner knew. He hoped Umbreon's defense was better.

"Lucario, use Aura Sphere!"

The attack was devastating, but Umbreon's toughness won out.

_And now it's over._

"Umbreon, use Payback!"

Umbreon unleashed a terrible attack of its own. While Tanner considered it overkill, the crowd went wild.

"Tanner from Pallet Town is the winner!" Katie called out. "This secures him a place in the semi-finals, everyone! Let's give it up one more time for Tanner!"

Tanner raised his arms in victory. He ran over to Umbreon to pet him and give him praise as well. He produced a PokéPuff. Victoria called back her Lucario and approached Tanner with her hand extended.

"You're a good trainer, and a fantastic match," she said. "For what it's worth, I hope you win and I think you've got a great shot here."

"Thank you," he replied. He shook her hand and when they stepped off the field the exchanged PokéConnect information. While he liked to gloat his victories over trainers when he won, when they showed respect and suffered defeat with dignity and grace he refrained.

"Congratulations!" Caleb said, coming over to ruffle his hair. "That was amazing!"

"Thanks, buddy," Tanner replied. "I'm going to go heal up. Josh's next match is coming up. I think he'll be on field four."

"I'm actually going to watch Casey's match," Caleb said. Tanner raised his eyebrows.

"You've got a thing for that guy."

Caleb blushed. "I do not. I'm with Josh."

"Doesn't mean you can't have a thing for someone else," Tanner pointed out. "It's kind of a jerk move to cheer on some other guy when your boyfriend is competing the same prize, by the way."

"You think?" Caleb inquired.

"I think," Tanner echoed. "If you were my boyfriend I'd be upset."

Caleb made his adorable, forehead-wrinkled frown of contemplation. No doubt, mulling over what Tanner had said and deciding it might be better to spectate Josh's match after all. Tanner left his friend to his pondering and made his way to the machine to heal up his Pokémon. He greeted the Chansey-clone in classic fashion and she laughed, blushed, and avoided the topic altogether.

_One of these days…_

Tanner collected his Pokemon and made his way to field four where he found Josh pacing back and forth. He caught his friend unaware when he placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to start.

"You scared me."

"Sorry."

"Congratulations on your match," Josh said. "I'd have come to watch but—"

"No worries," Tanner interjected. "You were prepping for your own match. Do me a favor and win, okay?

"That's the plan."

"I have a feeling Casey is going to win his matchup," Tanner said. "That means one of us might get paired with him in the semi-finals. Win or lose, I'd rather face you in the finals than him."

"His team…" Josh trailed off.

"I know! I've been thinking about it for a while though. You re team has a better shot than mine. Pikachu and Charmeleon can't stand against his Torterra and Umbreon can't carry me the whole way through."

"Charmeleon is a female," Josh pointed out. "Luxray's ability Rivalry will count for nothing in a matchup. And, since she hasn't evolved into Charizard yet, Thunder Fang won't be as deadly and will prevent super-effective attacks."

Before further discussion, Katie made the microphone squeal over the PA and cleared her throat before her announcement.

"Would Josh from Pallet Town and Daisy from Celadon City please make your way to field four! Pokémon battle on field four, please."

Tanner snickered. Katie used the same tone of voice one used when making an announcement for a cashier to come to the front at a department store. He and Josh exchanged snarky looks and rolled their eyes together.

"Good luck," Tanner said.

"Thanks."

"Alright, the two of you know the drill. At the sound of the horn, throw out your first Pokémon and let the battle begin!"

The horn sounded and Tanner watched as Josh and Daisy threw the balls to the center of the field.

"Go, Espeon!"

"Vileplume, you're up!"

Tanner looked around and saw Caleb was nowhere to be found. He shook his head and hoped Josh didn't notice. If he knew his boyfriend was off watching some other boy battle and cheering him on it wouldn't only hurt his feelings, it might throw him off his game.

_I swear I'll brain him if he doesn't show up soon._

"Espeon, use Psybeam!"

The super-effective hit was not enough to faint the Vileplume, but, in a stroke of luck, caused confusion. The victory was short-lived, however. The Vileplume held a Persim Berry and devoured it the moment it became confused, snapping it out straightaway.

_That only works once_.

"Vileplume, use Sludge Bomb!"

Daisy's Pokémon projected a glob of purple goo to explode on impact once it connected with Espeon. It caused poison and while Synchronize would have normally forced the enemy Pokémon to share the status affliction, Vileplume was immune.

"Espeon, hit it again with Psybeam!"

Vileplume fainted and Espeon suffered poison damage. The rules prohibited the use of Antidotes or switching out in response, so Josh kept Espeon on the field while Daisy brought out her next Pokémon.

"Victreebel, go!"

The flycatcher Pokémon hit the field and sent another pang of shame through Tanner. Since he didn't budget his money as well as he should have, he was not able to afford a Leaf Stone to evolve his Weepinbell either. If he walked away from this tournament the winner, he was going to hit the mall again.

"Espeon, keep it up with Psybeam!"

The super-effective hit was not enough to Victreebel in with a single hit.

"Victreebel, use Slam!"

The hit wasn't enough to knock Espeon out, but the poison damage inflicted afterwards caused him to faint. Josh called Espeon to return and hit the button on his next ball.

"Go, Nidoqueen!"

Nidoqueen gave a monstrous roar when she hit the field, powerful enough to rattle Tanner's teeth. Everyone in the crowd gasped and he grinned. Nidoqueen looked ferocious but he knew her to be very friendly. Her Poison Point ability kept her from being the cuddliest of Pokémon, but it amused Tanner to see her being intimidating.

"Victreebel, use Slam!"

Nidoqueen and her high defense took the attack in stride. Her Poison Point offered nothing in this situation because of Victreebel's typing. It was a good matchup, neither one of them having any kind of advantage.

"Nidoqueen, hit Victreebel with a Body Slam!"

Tanner worked together with Josh helping him to super-train Nidoqueen's attack and knew she packed a punch. His Pokémon suffered many a paralyzing Body Slam from the she-hulk. Having previously suffered a Psybeam from Espeon, the Victreebel fainted. Daisy called back her Pokémon and pressed the button on her next ball to unleash her final contender.

"Tangrowth, go! Use Ancient Power!"

The Rock-type move was not very effective and bounced of Nidoqueen with little effect. Luck favored Daisy today, however, because her Pokémon glowed with the stat increase. Tanner shook his head. Seemed like no matter how unlikely to transpire, opponents had the best luck as of late.

"Nidoqueen, hit Tangrowth with a Body Slam!"

Luck turned in Josh's favor quick enough. The hit was critical and the attack paralyzed poor Tangrowth. With it's boosted defense it wasn't enough to do it in.

"Tangrowth, fire back with another Ancient Power!"

Tangrowth was unable to move due to paralysis.

"One more time, Nidoqueen! Body Slam!" Josh called out

Tangrowth fainted and the crowds cheered Josh's name. Tanner congratulated him with a big hug when he returned. Both secured a place in the semi-finals. It meant one-in-three they'd battle each other next match. Either one might face Casey with the same odds. Tanner hoped it would be Josh versus Casey and that Josh would emerge victorious. If he was going to lose, he wanted it to be against Josh, not Casey. He honestly thought Josh had the better chance for victory too.

"Congratulations, man! I'll see you at the semi-finals tomorrow!"

"Thanks!" Josh said. He looked around, frowning. "Where's Caleb?"

Tanner didn't have the heart to tell him so he only shrugged. It bothered Josh enough that his boyfriend wasn't there to cheer him on. If he found out he ditched him to go watch Casey's match…

"Why don't we meet up with Katie and make plans for dinner?" Tanner suggested. "There's a good sushi place here in town."

Josh stuck his tongue out and pretended to gag and vomit. Tanner rolled his eyes. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen his friend eat anything but hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza. Caleb complained about his pallet all the time saying his pallet lacked refinement.

_At least he has the sense to come support the people important to him._

"Shouldn't we look for Caleb first?" Josh asked.

"Nah!" Tanner dismissed. "We'll text him and he can catch up to us." He walked with Josh to the machine to heal up his Pokemon and led the way to Katie at the announcer box after that. The first announcer was reading her for filth while the official League coordinator tried to diffuse the situation.

"All I'm saying is the crowd loves me," Katie said. "They were hitting snooze on their alarms with you. I got them cheering and making noise. You could at least pretend to be excited and not reading things from a teleprompter."

"You are out of line, young lady!" the announcer said. "Are you going to let her get away with this? You paid me to do this job, not her."

"I'll do it for free," Katie said, be fore the League official could reply. "Let him keep his fee and let me finish the event. Seriously! I'll do it for the publicity and experience. My followers are eating this up."

When the League official agreed, the announcer stormed off in an angry huff. Tanner stifled a laugh. Josh let out an "Oof" as he watched the angry dust cloud kick up under the announcer's feet.

"Congratulations, champion-in-the-making!" Katie said, throwing her arms around Josh. He blushed but returned the sentiment.

"I don't know about all that…"

"Don't sell yourself short, kid," she shot back. "It's your dream, right? You're one step closer because of how you battled today."

"I'm worried about the matchup tomorrow," Josh confessed.

"We both are," Tanner added.

"You're worried Casey's going to mop the floor with your teams, aren't you?" Katie asked. They nodded. "Maybe he will, but neither of the two of you are going down without a fight. Do what you can to prepare and give it your best; it's all you can do."

"You sound like Caleb," Josh said. "Speaking of which…"

"Who wants pizza?" Tanner interjected. "My treat! I'll race you there."

Fortunately, that proved enough to get Josh and Katie to follow. Tanner requested a table for four at the door and texted Caleb.

_We're at the pizza place across from the Game Corner. I put in for a table for four. I covered for you, by the way, but I won't do that again. You ditch Josh to make googly eyes at Casey again and I'll let you sleep in the bed you make. Jerk._

The hostess informed them the wait would be about twenty minutes. Caleb showed up in fifteen. Josh rushed up to hug him and tell him he won. Fortunately, he was more excited about the fact that he won a place in the semi-finals than he was concerned as to why Caleb wasn't there. Tanner gave Caleb nothing but daggers.

"Glad you could join us."

Caleb gave him a side-long glace.

"Tanner, party of four!"

"Let's just enjoy dinner together as friends, okay?" Caleb said, whispering in Tanner's ear.

"Start acting like a friend and maybe we will," Tanner shot back. "You'd better be there for him tomorrow."


	15. The Junior League Champion

—**15—  
**_The Junior League Champion_**  
****CALEB**

"Alright, folks!" Katie said over the PA. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I've been waiting for this moment for a while now. Would Josh and Tanner, both from Pallet Town, please make your way to field number one."

Caleb took Tanner's advice and parked his butt on the sidelines to watch his friend and boyfriend battle it out. Since it was the semi-final matches, they would happen consecutively instead of separately. After either Tanner or Josh emerged victorious, they could all go and watch Casey's match. Somehow, he doubted the two of them would want to. They seemed to have bad attitude towards him.

Josh and Tanner took their positions on either side of the field and gave each other a smile and competitive solute.

"May the best trainer win!" Tanner called out.

"I intend to," Josh shot back.

It was all in good fun. Neither of them wanted to battle one another until the final match, but the pairings were random. They disclosed at dinner the night before their hopes of Josh being matched against Casey, beating him, and Tanner beating Casey's unfortunate opponent. Though he'd never dare say it aloud, Caleb figured Casey would emerge victorious from the tournament. His Sinnoh team might be unbeatable in this bracket.

_Honestly, he should have been competing in the four-badge division._

Caleb lost his first match and got booted from the tournament, but still looked forward to winning his Rainbowbadge. He'd have to get his hands on a Vulpix or Growlithe to do so. With his focus on the tournament, he neglected in training Zubat. If it were a Crobat right now it might stand a chance against the Grass-type contenders awaiting him.

The horn sounded and the battle between Tanner and Josh began.

"Go, Umbreon!"

"Go Nidoqueen!"

The Pokémon hit the field and the trainers called out their first moves together.

"Umbreon, use Confuse Ray!"

"Nidoqueen, Dig!"

Nidoqueen burrowed underground before Umbreon's attack could land. Tanner must have seen that coming. Caleb figured he was trying to get through all his moves as quick as possible to activate Last Resort's power. Nidoqueen emerged from underground and landed her attack against Umbreon who took it in stride. His defense was top notch, even against a high-attack Pokémon like Nidoqueen.

"Umbreon, use Payback!"

The boosted attack landed a vicious hit on Nidoqueen, not enough to knock her out, and Umbreon must have been wary of the Poison Point from battling her so many times before; he managed to escape the poison status.

"Nidoqueen, Double Kick!"

Both hits reached their mark and Umbreon fainted under the super-effective attack. Tanner smiled as he called back his Pokémon and prepared his next one. He faced type-disadvantage regardless of which Pokémon he chose.

"Go, Pikachu!"

This is the choice Caleb would have made too. While the weaker of his two, the speed advantage might be the thing to save him.

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!"

Nidoqueen fainted and Josh called her back, his disappointment apparent on his face. He readied his next Pokémon and threw the ball to the field.

"Espeon, go!"

"Pikachu, use Thunder Wave!"

The attack paralyzed Espeon and while his Synchronize ability would have leveled the field, Pikachu was immune to the status. With his speed cut in half and a chance to freeze up in battle, things didn't look good for Espeon or Josh.

"Espeon, use Psybeam!"

The Psychic-attack landed a critical hit on Pikachu and managed to confuse him. Caleb could not help but smile; this battle was neck-and-neck and getting better with each passing round.

_It's anyone's game at this point._

"Pikachu, use Thunder Shock!"

"Espeon, use Psybeam!"

Pikachu hurt itself in his confusion and Espeon ended up completely paralyzed. Caleb chuckled, but covered his mouth in case his friends saw. The moment he thought the battle one of the most captivating he'd seen in a while, it turned flaccid.

"Pikachu, try again! Use Thunder Shock!"

"Espeon, use Psybeam!"

Pikachu's attack hit, not enough to faint Espeon. Espeon managed to hit it back with a Psybeam and faint Pikachu. Tanner growled in frustration and called back his Pokémon. He hit the button on his ball and threw his third and final Pokémon on the field.

"Alright, Charmanda! Let's do this!"

"Espeon, use Psybeam!"

"Charmanda, use Ember!"

Charmanda's attack landed before Espeon had the chance to conjure its counter, supposing the paralysis didn't do it in. Josh looked like he expected this and called Espeon back with a calm demeanor. The victorious smile crossed his face as he hit the button and threw out his third and final Pokémon.

"Wartortle! I choose you!"

Caleb thought it was appropriate to come down to their starter Pokémon in the last round. This was the rematch Josh always wanted but, even in all their training, he and Tanner had not pitted their starters against one another.

Caleb looked up at the weather to find it sunny, but partly cloudy. Not enough to boost Charmanda's special attack. He wondered if Josh would bother with the Rain Dance or go straight for the strike.

"Charmanda, use Dragon Rage!"

"Wartortle, Water Pulse!"

Charmanda's speed won out and hit Wartortle with a devastating attack. The fixed damage and impossibility of a critical hit kept it from fainting Wartortle in one hit, allowing it to follow up with its Water-type attack. The super-effective hit fainted Charmanda in one go. The match was over. Josh had won.

"Look!"

"His Pokémon is evolving!"

Several cries from the crowd drew everyone's gaze to Wartortle. Glowing with familiar light as it swelled in size in strength, it transformed into a fully evolved Blastoise. Josh ran across the field and hugged his Pokémon who now stood taller than him. Tanner called back Charmanda to her ball and came over to join the group hug.

"You won," Tanner said. "Fair and square, and it was a good fight."

"Thank you," Josh replied.

"Now do me a favor and make sure you beat the socks off Casey in the final!"

"That's the plan. He's not the only one with a fully evolved team now. By the way, go to the Celadon super store and get yourself a Thunderstone."

They had a good laugh and joined Caleb at the sidelines. He gave them both hugs, congratulated Josh and told Tanner he'd done a good job. They wandered off together to heal up their Pokemon and Caleb decided to go pay Katie a visit. Ace Trainer Kate had a long line of admirers waiting at the base of the podium in hopes of getting an autograph. They threw darts from their eyes at Caleb as he walked up the stairs to stand alongside her.

"Wow!" he exclaimed. "You have the best seat in the house." From her vantage, all four fields spread out in perfect clarity. Not even the tallest spectators could block her view. Caleb watched as the League employees disassembled the four smaller fields and got ready to set up the one big one for the finals.

"Smile!" Katie said. Caleb looked up at her phone and offered his cheesiest grin. While not much for selfies and social media, Caleb entertained her and Josh with their endeavors to grow their audience.

"I can look forward to a swell of friend requests now," Caleb said. "And when they find out I never post anything they'll unfollow me a day or two later."

"You're trying to get into the academy to become a Pokémon professor, right?" Caleb nodded. "You should do a social media campaign where you give a daily fact or something you learned and tag the League, the academy, and famous alumni. They're doing a photo contest scholarship right now. I'd help too if you wanted."

"A scholarship? Really?"

"Really," Katie replied. "It won't cover more than your room and board, but it's a start."

"You're right. I definitely should do that…provided my famous friends don't mind me piggybacking on their popularity."

"Please!" Katie scoffed. "That's what friends are for!"

"I think Professor Oak will recommend me and I already have a letter from Bill," Caleb said. "I still take the online practice exams when they offer them for free, but still can't place above Advanced."

"Advanced!" Katie raised an eyebrow. "Caleb, that's really good."

"It's not Exemplary," he countered. "It's one thing to be in the ninety-first percentile, but it's another to be in the ninety-seventh."

"You don't think you're being too hard on yourself?"

"It's a competitive program," Caleb pointed out. "And all of the others applying for the program will be high school graduates, probably way smarter than me."

"You're the smartest person I know; I'm sure you'll be fine."

_I hope so._

"Do you mind if I watch the finals up here with you?" Caleb asked. "I know it's supposed to be official League staff only."

"Darling, it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission," Katie said with a wink. "I won't tell if you won't." Caleb gave a bashful nod and took the stool next to hers. Katie turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "Who do you think is going to win?"

"Casey," he replied at once.

"Wow! So little faith in Josh?"

"That's not it at all," Caleb shot back. "It's just that Casey's team and his battle strategy is much better than anything I anticipated. He wiped the floor with me. Josh's team is great too, and he's a talented trainer but…I don't know…"

"I think it's going to be a close match and our little Joshie might surprise us," Katie said. "As the unofficial announcer, I'm supposed to be unbiased, but I can't help but want to cheer him on, you know?"

"I hope he wins," Caleb added. Katie raised another skeptical eyebrow. "Really! Casey's a great trainer, but Josh and I have known each other our whole lives. Of _course_ I want him to win."

"Do yourself a favor: make sure Josh knows that," Katie said.

Caleb looked out from his place in the announcer's stand and spotted Josh. He stood doing his nervous pacing ritual he practiced before every match. Tanner, from the looks of things, gave him a pep talk.

"I'll be right back."

Caleb leapt down the stairs of the announcers stand and ran as fast as he could to Josh. He smiled when they met eyes but before he could say anything Caleb grabbed him and planted a kiss square on his mouth.

"You can do anything," Caleb said. "You can beat him; I believe in you."

Though he was smiling, there were tears in his eyes. Wiping them away in a giggle, he muttered some thanks, trying to conjure something to say. Caleb kissed him again and followed it up with a firm embrace.

"No matter what happens, you're _my_ champion," Caleb whispered. "And don't you ever forget it."

"I won't," Josh said. He offered an inward smile and blushed. Caleb let go of him, knowing the public display of affection always left him uneasy. The last thing he wanted to do was throw Josh off his game.

"Where's my kiss?" Tanner complained. He approached, arms out, lips puckered and making kissing noises and he tried to grab hold of Caleb. He managed to fend off his advances but not before he placed a half a dozen kisses in any place he could reach.

"You kissed my ear, you weirdo!" Caleb complained. He gave Tanner a playful punch in the arm who replied with a knowing nod. While he didn't say it with words, he communicated a job well done to Caleb.

"Yeah, stop kissing my boyfriend, Tanner!" Josh goaded. This only caused Tanner to turn his playful affections on Josh who was never much of a wrestler. Before long, Tanner worked Josh in a headlock and planted deliberate kisses on his cheek in quick succession.

"Tanner! Could you not!"

Caleb shook his head.

"Tanner, I'm going to go watch the match from the announcer stand with Katie. You should join me. Unless you'd prefer one of us was on the sidelines with you, Josh."

"Sit wherever you want," Josh said. "It won't make a difference when it comes to the battle. I'm either going to win or lose. Any tips?"

"Don't bother with Rain Dance," Caleb said. "Use every move to land an attack to cause damage. Don't pit Nidoqueen against Staraptor; its Intimidate ability will cut her attack."

"What do I do about his Luxray?" Josh asked. "It knows Thunder Fang, Ice Fang, and Crunch. That's type-advantage against my entire team."

"That's why he trained that Pokémon," Caleb replied. "Its coverage is hard to beat. And its Rivalry ability makes the hits against male Pokémon boosted. I think the best you can do is throw Nidoqueen out there. Even with the type-advantage, it will take two Ice Fang attacks to bring her down. Keep your fingers crossed she doesn't flinch, and Poison Point comes through for you. If you can hit him with Dig once, it's over. Just make sure you take care of Staraptor first."

"You think?" Tanner chimed in. "Luxray looks tough."

"Looks that way," Caleb said, "but he trained it to be fast and to hit hard. I would doubt Luxray has a single effort value invested in defense." His friends exchanged glances and nodded. Tanner broke the silence.

"Where was all this strategy when you were battling him, Caleb?"

"My team isn't as good as Josh's," Caleb confessed. "And I underestimated his willingness to switch out to stay on top. Be ready for that too, Josh. If it were me, I'd start with Espeon and hope for the best."

Josh nodded and rubbed his chin in pondering. Caleb could tell he hadn't made up his mind yet, but hoped he took the advice. One thing remained certain: this would be Josh's greatest challenge yet.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, prepare yourself. The final match will start in three minutes. Contenders, please prepare you Pokémon and make your way to the sidelines. Josh from Pallet Town and Casey from Twinleaf. Let's make some noise for both of our contenders!"

Cheers went up through the crowd and they made their way to the field. It seemed more people were shouting out Josh's name than Casey's. Caleb supposed it was because he was a Kanto native. It wouldn't make sense to cheer on the out-of-towner. Several people clapped Josh on the back as he made his way through the crowd, wishing him luck, and telling him in no specific phrasing they hoped he won. Josh tried to thank them all, but his head was in the upcoming match; Caleb could tell.

They parted ways at the field, Josh taking his place at the southern end of the field while Casey stepped up to the northern end. Tanner and Caleb veered to the west end of the field and made their way up the stairs to join Katie in the announcer's box.

"Thirty-two seconds to spare," she said, looking at her watch. "Cutting it close, boys. The show's about to start."

Caleb and Tanner took seats on Katie's left and right. She offered Caleb a microphone which he declined. Tanner scooped it up with enthusiasm, tapping it to make sure it was on. The _thump-thump_ over the PA system offered promise of extra antics this time around.

"I have Tanner from Pallet Town, the semi-finalist who lost to Josh last round," Katie said. "Tell me, Tanner, who do you think is going to emerge victorious here."

"It's going to be a tough match either way," Tanner replied, "but I'd be doing fans a terrible disservice if I didn't back Josh. I've known him almost our entire lives and there's not a trainer alive with his determination. He's going all the way to the League."

"Casey from Twinleaf has proved to be the star contender this tournament," Katie countered. "He hasn't had a single Pokémon fainted so far. That kind of winning streak is hard to beat."

"Casey's team is top-notch and his skills as a trainer cannot be denied, but Josh has something he doesn't: the sheer will to win no matter what it takes."

The two of them continued back and forth right up until the timer went off in the box and Katie pressed the button to sound the horn. Caleb kept his eyes fixed on the field, the anticipation of it all making his leg bounce off the floor.

_Come on, Josh! You can do it!_

"Go, Espeon!"

"Staraptor, I choose you!"

"The finalists have chosen their first Pokémon! Let the match begin!"

Casey and Josh waited for the cheering to die down before they began. They exchanged the slightest of nods. Caleb wondered if other spectators saw it because it was so subtle.

"Staraptor, return! Go, Luxray!"

"Espeon, use Future Sight!"

"Nothing happened!" Katie said. "What is Josh up to? Let's ask our Pokémon professor in training, Caleb!"

"Future Sight factors in the special attack of the user and the special defense of the target on the battlefield. In two turns, the attack will strike regardless of which Pokémon are on the field. And because of the rules of the tournament, it will be Staraptor's special defense, not Luxray's accounted for."

"Look at the brain on this guy, folks!" Katie beamed. "We'll look forward to seeing what happens next." Their eyes moved back to the field where Espeon and Luxray squared off.

"Espeon, use Psybeam!"

"Luxray, use Crunch!"

Espeon's attack landed first and caused confusion. Luxray hurt itself in its confusion, sparing the surefire one-hit-KO in store for Espeon. Casey let out a growl of frustration.

"Luxray, return! Go Torterra!"

"Espeon, use Signal Beam!"

Caleb burst with excitement. Josh figured out a way to use Casey's strategy against him on the fly. The super-effective hit was not enough to take down Torterra in one go, but it was exactly the kind of attack of opportunity a trainer wanted.

"How did he know Casey would switch to Torterra?" Katie announced. "And what a surprise with a Bug-type move on a Psychic-type Pokemon! This kid is an Ace!"

"Torterra, return! Go, Luxray!"

Casey switched again, knowing this would get rid of the confusion status. His strategy to switch out to get type-advantage against Caleb worked in his favor, but it would cost him the match if he wasn't careful.

"Espeon, use Psybeam!"

The attack was not enough to bring Luxray down.

"Luxray, follow up with Crunch!"

The devastating super-effective hit was also critical. It downed poor Espeon in a single blow. The gasp fell through the crowd, however, as Luxray also fainted from the Future Sight attack Josh invested in earlier. Some boos from those in Casey's favor drowned out in the mad cheering for Josh.

"This is a first in the is tournament, folks!" Katie said. "Both Pokémon have fainted, meaning the trainers will choose their next contenders at the same time at the sound of the horn. Contenders, get ready!"

The horn sounded and Josh and Casey let fly their next Pokémon.

"Go, Staraptor!"

"Nidoqueen, you're up!"

Another stroke of luck. Torterra would have demolished Nidoqueen with an Earthquake attack, maybe in a single blow. Staraptor had to make contact in order to execute its moves which would make it subject to the Poison Point. It did, however, lower Nidoqueen's attack with its Intimidate ability which dampened Joshs's heaviest hitter.

Caleb saw the hesitation in Casey's face for a moment. He was tempted to switch for the better matchup, but Torterra had already suffered one attack of opportunity and probably could not afford another.

"Nidoqueen, use Poison Jab!"

The attack hit its mark but failed to cause the poison status, giving Casey the chance to retaliate.

"Staraptor, use Whirlwind!"

This forced Josh to switch to Blastoise but offered Casey no attack of opportunity.

"I see your whole team has evolved now," Casey called out. "I'm glad; it'll make beating you that much more glorious."

"We'll see about that," Josh shot back. "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm in the lead. Let's go! Unless you want to blow some more hot air!"

"Staraptor, use Close Combat!"

The bird flew near to deliver a powerful blow to Blastoise whose solid defense kept him in the game. Staraptor's defenses suffered as a result.

"Blastoise, use Water Pulse!"

The Water-type attack connected but failed to cause confusion, giving Staraptor another opportunity to Attack.

"Blastoise, return! Go, Nidoqueen!"

_What's he doing?_

Nidoqueen hit the field and her attack suffered another demotion when facing off against the Staraptor. Casey took his attack of opportunity.

"Staraptor, Close Combat!"

While strong, the attack was not very effective, and when Staraptor suffered poison status under Nidoqueen's Poison Point ability, Caleb saw what Josh was trying to do. The next move would determine its success or failure in the long run, however.

"Staraptor! Use Take Down!"

The powerful attack fainted Nidoqueen, but the recoil damage took a heavy toll on Staraptor with its lowered defense. Paired with the poison status, Staraptor fainted at the end of the round.

"This battle is truly neck-and-neck, everyone! What an exciting turn of events. Twice in a row, both Pokémon have fainted at the end of the round, leaving both contenders with only one Pokémon left!"

"Go, Torterra!"

"Blastoise! You're up!"

"Both Pokemon have previously taken brutal hits in this battle," Katie announced. "I think it's going to come down to speed!"

"Blastoise! Use Ice Beam!"

Caleb's eyes widened in surprise. He knew Josh saved his money to buy technical machines at Celadon, but had no idea he had taken the initiative to teach his Wartortle (now Blastoise) Ice Beam! The attack was quadruple-effective as Torterra's Grass/Ground-typing made it doubly weak to Ice-type moves.

"Torterra has fainted! Ladies and gentlemen, Josh from Pallet Town is officially the Junior League Champion! Let's hear it for Josh!"

Cheers erupted all over the city. Caleb and Tanner stood to their feet, hooting and hollering like idiots as their friend threw his hand in the air. Casey called back his Torterra and walked across the field to give Josh's hand a firm shake. Caleb couldn't hear what he said over the roaring applause, but by the smiles on their faces, he figured it was respectful and congratulatory.

From his place on the battlefield, Josh turned and met eyes with Caleb. He mouthed the words, "I love you," and for the first time, Caleb mouthed them back. Never, in all his years knowing Josh had he been more proud.


	16. The Outcast from Twinleaf

—**16—  
**_The Outcast from Twinleaf_**  
****CASEY**

_I was supposed to win._

Back in Sinnoh, Casey was the underdog and the outcast. One year younger than all the other kids in Twinleaf, they left on their adventure a full three hundred and sixty-five days before him. In that time, he poured over the map, researched all the gym leaders and the Elite Four, and asked his dad for a move tutored Shinx for his birthday. He still remembered choosing Turtwig as his starter and catching Starly outside his hometown like it was yesterday. He crossed the threshold of his door, so excited to show his mom and dad and sister…only to find them sitting at the table, crying.

"Your father and I are getting a divorce."

His mother's words echoed in his memories, wounding him to his core over again. His adventure came to an abrupt halt. Exploring tall grass for wild Pokémon, battling trainers, and winning badges came to a screeching halt. Instead, his days included packing stuff into boxes, listening to his parents argue from the other room, and crying on his sister's shoulder. When all their belongings found their way onto the moving bound for the docks, Casey gave his father a final farewell.

"I know your birthday came and went already and I'm a little late, but I got you something I think you'll like."

Inside a Premier Ball, a baby Shinx awaited his new trainer. Coming from the stock of a reputable breeder in the Sinnoh region, its individual values scored thirty-one across the board. It entered the world knowing Fire Fang, Ice Fang, and Thunder Fang. Being male and having the Rivalry ability created for the promise of a competitive Pokémon about which young trainers like Casey only dreamed.

On the boat ride across the ocean, Casey spent every ounce of his time training the effort values of his Pokémon the long, hard way. The speed and attack of both Starly and Shinx were maxed out, the leftover invested into durability. For Turtwig, he bolstered its defense and special attack. And when he finally set foot on Kanto soil, he met a boy named Caleb, bright-eyed and fresh on his adventure.

He showed him the kindness and promise of a friend on this end of the world and gave him directions to Professor Oak's laboratory. Visiting quaint little Pallet Town gave Casey a deeper understanding of Caleb and he found a kindred spirit. Small town kids with big ambitions. It was that day Casey decided to shoot for the Indigo League. Since Sinnoh was a part of his past now, there was no reason not to aim for the top in his new home.

With a PokéDex and, "Good luck!" from Professor Oak, Casey took the bus with his family to Cerulean City. Here, he put his boxes in storage, stayed the night on his cousin's bottom bunk, and announced the very next day he intended to start his adventure anew in Kanto. While his mom and sister were getting immigration papers in order, Casey made sure to get his license from the region's Pokémon professor. Neither one of them wanted him to leave, but neither one of them could stop him.

After winning his Cascadebadge, he decided a trip through Mount Moon to get to Pewter City was a good idea, and there he encountered Caleb again. Their battle was neck-and-neck, and Casey lost. He promised that would never happen again. While other trainers focused on catching Pokémon and making a team of six, Casey invested all his time in his three. He'd caught several during his adventure but always took them to the PC to be transferred back to Professor Oak's care. One day he planned to train them—all of them. Becoming the Junior League Champion took precedence.

_I was supposed to win._

Competitive by nature, accepting second place came hard for Casey. Still, he could not find it in his heart to harbor any animosity towards Josh. The kid had talent, moxie, and a killer team. He called back his Torterra, crossed the battlefield, offered Josh a genuine smile, and extended his hand.

"You, sir, are a real ace. Congratulations, man."

Josh looked at him, the surprised expression obvious. It faded with a smile of pride as he reached out to take Casey's hand in his.

"You too. You're the best trainer I've ever met. I'm sure we'll see each other in the Indigo League when it comes time."

"I'm counting on it," Casey replied.

Josh turned and went to celebrate with his friends. Casey felt a pang of loneliness. Watching them hug and high-five made him long for that kind of companionship. Weeks ago, when he arrived and saw Caleb's team, he never would have dreamed about asking to join them on their adventure. Now, though he wanted it more than he could articulate, he still refused to ask. He was the outsider here too. The Sinnoh kid. People booed him solely for the reason of where he was born.

No, the road ahead of him was a lonely one. He would have his Pokémon with him every step of the way. So confident in his team, he once doubted ever encountering a trainer with the edge to meet him head-to-head. Never again would he underestimate the trainers in Kanto—not after losing to Josh from Pallet Town. No, he would stay on his game and make sure to build a team to help pave his way to the Hall of Fame.

Ace Trainer Kate made an announcement over the PA for the semi-finalists to make their way to the center of the field for the awards ceremony. League employees set up tiered stands numbered "2," "1," and "3" in the center. Casey reached the stands first, and the League employee pointed at the "2" stand for him. He stepped up on the platform and waited for the others to join. Josh, Tanner, and Delia, the trainer from Saffron Casey defeated in his earlier matchup arrived together.

Tanner and Delia were unsure as to which one of them achieved third place and which one achieved fourth. The League employee explained Tanner had fewer fainted Pokémon overall in his matches and therefore took third place by a few points. This thrilled Tanner but, by the look on her face, didn't sit right with Delia. If she had been matched up against Tanner, she might have beat him.

"Our third runner-up is Delia from Saffron City!" Ace Trainer Kate announced. "She will receive five hundred dollars and pre-qualifies for the Indigo League this year. Let's give it up for Delia!"

The crowd gave their applause. She raised her hand, accepted the giant check and envelope bearing the official Kanto League seal—probably paperwork to prove her merit. The announcer waited until the noise died down to continue.

"Our second runner-up is Tanner from Pallet Town! He will receive one thousand dollars and pre-qualifies for the Indigo League this year. Make some noise for Tanner!"

More thunderous cheering continued as Tanner took his check and his envelope. He tucked both under his arm and raised the other to wave at the crowd, soaking up the victorious moment.

"Our first runner-up is a transplant from Twinleaf Town. Casey will receive fifteen hundred dollars and pre-qualifies for the Indigo League this year. Let me hear you scream for this surprise star from Sinnoh!"

The volume of cheers from the crowd took Casey by surprise. Half the people booing him only minutes earlier now cheered his name. He accepted his check and envelope, raised his hand in thanks, and came to rest.

"Let's give it up for this year's Junior League Champion: Josh from Pallet Town!"

The crowd grew far wilder as they screamed, hooted, hollered, and applauded for the winner. Casey tried not let envy get the best of him, but he still felt like they should be screaming his name.

_When it comes time for the real Indigo League, I'll be ready._

"Josh will receive five thousand dollars and pre-qualifies for the Indigo League this year. All quarterfinalists will also receive their pick of a Pokémon from the Game Corner to add to their team; I've been told your vouchers are in your envelopes.

"Well, folks, that concludes this year's Junior League Tournament. Thank you so much for coming and thank you to the Silph Company and the Indigo League for sponsoring this event. I'm Ace Trainer Kate and if you've enjoyed me be sure to follow me on PokéGram! Have a good day!"

Several trainers from the crowd rushed the platforms to great the finalists. Most of them wanted to see Josh, of course, but a few of them came to congratulate Tanner, Delia, and Casey as well. Casey made sure thank them all but was glad when they scattered. He walked to the machine to heal up is Pokémon, ready for some time alone. After seeing to them, Casey hurried over to the Game Corner, digging his voucher out of his envelope on the way. With the crowds still on the tournament grounds, the Game Corner was empty. Casey walked right up and handed his voucher to the clerk, a young lady in her late teens or early twenties. She flashed him a pretty smile.

"Can I help you?"

"They told me I could redeem this voucher for a Pokémon."

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "You must be one of the winners in the tournament."

Casey gave her a reluctant smile. She said, "…one of…" as if she sized him up as not being _the_ winner. With his pride stung, he nodded and waited for her to explain.

"Here's a list of the Pokémon available at this time. Ignore the coin value on the right-hand side; you can choose any one you want without paying."

Casey looked over the list, his eyebrows growing wide at the rarity of Pokémon on the list. He thought it strange to obtain a Pokémon from a Game Corner instead of in the wild or by hatching an egg. He imagined their lives sad and lonely, tucked inside their PokéBalls until a trainer redeemed them.

Abra

Clefairy

Nidorina

Nidorino

Horsea

Vulpix

Growlithe

Jigglypuff

Dratini

Porygon

Scyther

Pinsir

Mr. Mime

Eevee

Pikachu

Larvitar

"I'll take Larvitar," Casey replied as soon as he saw it at the bottom of the list. The Johto native was considered by many top-tier trainers to be "pseudo-legendary" because of its outrageous stats. Despite is rarity and long time in evolving, Tyranitar, its final evolution was a popular choice among professional trainers.

"You got it," the clerk replied. "One moment, please."

She disappeared into a back room and came back with a PokéBall. After taking his voucher and punching a hole in it with a special hole-punch, she handed it over to Casey. His PokéDex beeped as Larvitar's data was added and—just like that—Casey was the proud trainer of a new Pokémon.

"Thank you," he said.

"You're welcome," the clerk replied. "Take good care of Larvitar!"

Casey added the ball to his belt and turned to leave. Stepping into the bright sunshine of a mid-summer day, he let the wind whip across his face. A new, rare Pokémon partner almost made up for second place.

_Almost_.

"Hey, Casey!"

He turned to see Josh and Tanner approaching, vouchers in hand.

"Hey, guys. Here to redeem your prize Pokémon?"

"You bet!" Tanner replied. "What did you pick?"

"Larvitar."

"Oh wow! I've always wanted one of those. Come on, Josh! Let's go check out the list!'

"I'll be right there," Josh replied. Tanner ran into the Game Corner ahead of him, leaving he and Casey standing alone. "Where are you going from here?"

"I'm staying the night at the Pokémon Center here in Celadon," Casey answered. "Tomorrow, I'm going to get my Rainbowbadge and then I suppose it's off to Fuchsia City for a Soulbadge."

"Sounds like you've got your route all planned," Josh said. "I'm sure you'll spend a fair amount of time in the Safari Zone in Fuchsia City too."

"Safari Zone?"

"You don't know about the Safari Zone?" Casey shook his head and Josh continued. "It's this really cool place, like a Pokémon preserve. You can catch Pokémon there, but you can't take your own Pokémon in with you. Caleb said it upsets the ecological balance or something like that.

"Anyway, they give you thirty Safari Balls, some bait and some rocks and let you loose for an allotted time. You keep everything you catch; they go straight to the PC and they have all kinds of rare Pokémon you can't find in the wild anywhere else."

"That sounds amazing!" Casey admitted. "What kind of Pokémon?"

"Scyther, Pinsir, Rhyorn, Chansey, Kangaskhan…I hear you can fish for Dratini in the water…there's a lot! Caleb knows more about it than I do."

"I'll have to check it out once I get there," Casey said. "What about you? What are your plans after this?"

"We have work on Monday morning," Josh said. "It's the last few weeks of summer and we have to finish out our job at the Day Care. After that, I imagine we'll probably follow the same route you're going. You'll be a few steps ahead of us."

"I thought I was a few steps ahead of you already," Casey confessed. "I promise I'm not being a sore loser, but I didn't expect to leave today without first place."

"If it's any consolation, I wasn't sure I was going to beat you," Josh replied. "You and your team had me a nervous wreck the entire time until the match started."

"I was just about to say you didn't seem nervous."

"Once the battle begins my nerves disappear," Josh explained. "I get in that competitive state of mind and everything else fades away. I trust my gut and I go for it."

"You and I are more alike than I thought," Casey replied. "I don't get the impression you like me very much."

"I didn't," Josh said. "I didn't like how confident you were or how Caleb acts when he's around."

"How Caleb acts when he's around me…?"

"Nevermind," Josh continued, "but after battling you, I have respect for you."

Casey chuckled. "Would you still have respect for me if I had beaten you?"

"Probably not," Josh replied.

They both got a good laugh from the exchange. Casey opened his mouth to ask what Josh meant about his comment concerning Caleb when Tanner burst through the Game Corner door.

"I have a Dratini! Josh, look! LOOK!"

He tossed the PokéBall and let his new partner out. True to his word, a young Dratini emerged. Tanner reached down to scoop it up and hold it close, gushing. Casey wasn't sure, but he thought he saw red hearts where his pupils used to be.

"That's awesome!" Josh exclaimed. "Pleasure to meet you, Dratini! I'm going to redeem mine. I'll talk to you later."

Josh retreated into the Game Corner. Casey watched in amusement as Tanner familiarized himself with Dratini. He let his other Pokémon out of their balls to meet the newest member of their team. All of them seemed to have a strong bond with Tanner, stronger than Caleb or Josh's team shared with their respective trainers.

"You have a lot of love for your Pokémon," Casey observed.

"Obviously!" Tanner replied. "How can you not love these guys?"

Caleb approached. He blushed and offered a bashful wave when he met eyes with Casey. To Tanner he gave a friendly nod and reached out to pat Dratini on its head.

"Hey, Caleb," Tanner began, "what does the Shed Skin ability do?"

"It allows a Pokemon to recover from status afflictions on its own without the use of trainer items like Antidote or Paralyze Heal," Casey replied.

"He's right," Caleb affirmed.

"Looks like you're not only brainy one around here anymore," Tanner teased. The three of them shared a laugh, but the comment left Casey pondering. As Josh emerged from the Game Corner announcing himself as the proud new owner of a Growlithe, Casey realized something interesting. He shared something separate and unique with Josh, Caleb, and Tanner. With Tanner, having a strong emotional bond with his Pokémon partners. With Caleb, the value of gaining knowledge and using it advantageously. And with Josh, that competitive spirit to be the very best like no one ever was.

They were the closest thing to friends he was like to get around there. Most trainers snubbed their noses up at him the moment they caught the Sinnoh League emblem on his hat. Tanner and Josh weren't exactly warm and welcoming to him, and probably still didn't know him enough to like him, but they respected him.

"You guys like pizza?" Casey asked.

Josh turned and looked at him longingly, a trickle of drool collecting in the corner of his mouth. Tanner laughed and Caleb smacked his own forehead.

"Did you say pizza…?" Josh cooed. Casey shook his head and smiled.

"Yeah, I'm starving. There's a parlor down the road from here. Why don't you invite Ace Trainer Kate and we can grab some dinner? My treat."

Josh hugged him. Fiercely. Casey looked to Tanner and Caleb for help. Tanner continued his laughing fit and Caleb only shrugged.

"Pizza…" Josh trailed off.

"Dude likes his pizza," Casey replied.

"You're about to witness an entire series of unfortunate events," Caleb replied. "You've opened pandora's box with this one. What Josh means to say is, 'Thank you, Casey. We'll take you up on your offer.'"

"Alright then. Let's get some grub!"


	17. Parting Ways

—**17—  
**_Parting Ways_**  
****JOSH**

The line to the Celadon City Gym was out the door and around the corner. All the contestants with three badges now wanted to take a crack at Erika's team of Grass-type Pokémon and earn a Rainbowbadge. Josh wanted to, but hated waiting in lines more than anything, and what more, had work on Monday morning. He worried if he returned to the Daycare, the guards at the route checkpoints might not let him through when it came time to return one evening. In a strange stroke of luck, he encountered a sweet little old lady offering a cup of iced tea to anyone who agreed to sit on her porch and visit with her. Parched and suffering the indignities of the summer sun, he took her up on her offer.

"What's your name, little boy?" the old lady inquired. Josh stifled a snicker at the term of endearment. While he might have protested were it someone else, this woman's hair was white as winter snow, her skin sagging and wrinkly, her frame tiny and frail. Old enough to be his grandma twice over, he supposed by comparison to her, he was a "little boy" and decided to let it go.

"My name is Josh."

"You're the one who won the tournament!" she exclaimed. "I don't get around much these days, especially in this heat. I didn't get the chance to see, but I heard them cheering your name. Congratulations!"

"Thank you. May I have some tea?"

"Oh! Silly me! Of course. Here you go!"

She poured him a tall glass of iced cold sweet tea. He took the first quarter of it in three big gulps, the icy liquid crashing down his throat and into his belly like a sweet solace from the heat. The temperature change gave him the chills but he like it.

"You brought a big thirst with you, I see," said the old lady.

"Yeah," Josh replied. "It's hot and this really hits the spot. Thank you. I bet if those stupid guards at the checkpoint got a taste they might start letting people pass."

"Why don't you take them some?" the old lady suggested. "I'll send you off with a bottle. There's no thirst my tea cannot quench."

Josh finished his glass, making small talk with the old lady, and thanked her for his portion and for the bottle. He thought about keeping it for himself but decided it would be dishonest and made the long walk to the guard station east of Celadon.

"Hey, man," Josh greeted. "You're thirsty, right? I've got some sweet tea from a little old lady in Celadon. She says it can quench any thirst. Want some?"

In some strange, cosmic twist of events, the guard accepted the bottle from Josh, opened it and took generous swallows.

"Wow! Thanks, kid. That really hits the spot. I'll be sure and share this with all my friends too."

_If Caleb were here he would tell you that's a physical impossibility to share with every guard at every station in Kanto. If Tanner were here, he'd call you a clone._

"Sounds good, mister! Next time I need to get around town, I trust you'll let me pass."

"Absolutely!" the guard replied. "We'll open the roads now for everyone."

Josh rolled his eyes and returned to the Pokémon Center. He found Tanner and Caleb sitting at the table, eyes buried in their phones, notebooks and pens spread out over the table. He knew they'd disclose the what and why concerning their activities without his asking in a matter of time and decided to tell them what happened with the guards.

"So, let me get this straight," Tanner said. "One bottle of specific sweet tea from a specific old lady in Celadon can be shared with every guard in Kanto now that you've delivered a single bottle to one guard. And only now, because of your generosity, these guards have decided the roads are open because their thirst is quenched?"

Josh shrugged. "That's what he said."

"It's impossible for him to share with everyone," Caleb pointed out.

"Clones," Tanner deduced. "If one drinks the tea, they all taste it. It's the only scientific explanation."

Josh chortled and rolled his eyes. Lovable friends, but predictable. He sat down at the table, scanning over their notes. Lists of Pokémon names and statistics like Attack and Speed following filled page after page. Katie and Casey both left early this morning to continue their respective solo adventures, so, with no distractions to occupy his attention, he decided to feign interest in their research.

"What's going on here?"

"Researching effort values," Caleb replied. "Specifically, a list of wild Pokémon, where to find them, and what effort value they will yield upon being fainted."

"So, if I want my new Growlithe to have a competitive Attack level, have him fight a bunch of Bellsprout?" Josh inquired, using the nearest piece of paper as his guide.

"Exactly!" Caleb replied. "We invested a lot of time in our three competitors for this tournament, so the rest of our teams have some catching up to do. I want to make sure my Crobat is as fast as he can be."

"Zubat," Tanner corrected.

"He'll be a Crobat someday," Caleb insisted.

"Not to break up the study session, but what's the plan after this?" Josh asked. "The line to compete for a Rainbowbadge is out the door and around the corner, we have work tomorrow, but this is our last week. Where to after this?"

"They're offering free self-defense classes at the Fighting Dojo in Saffron—"

"I want to head south to Fuchsia City and hit the Safari Zone—"

Caleb and Tanner replied at the same time and stopped short at the same time. The two looked at each other with a contemplative frown. Josh raised an eyebrow and waited for the argument.

"According to the League recommendation, we should go to Celadon, Fuchsia, and then Saffron," Tanner objected.

"The gym leaders are required to ask you how many badges you have before they battle and have teams reserved to meet challengers," Caleb countered. "There's no reason I cannot battle Sabrina first."

"Yeah, but you just want to go to Saffron so you can study martial arts at the Fighting Dojo," Tanner shot back. "There's no badge to earn; it's a waste of time."

"Learning to defend oneself is not a waste of time," Caleb insisted. "Especially with Team Specter out there."

The mention of Team Specter sent a chill down Josh's spine. Though he remembered little of what transpired on the S. S. Anne, something in the depths of his soul echoed a dark tale. Tanner and Caleb's argument continued, both bull-headed and neither willing to bend on their next step.

"We don't have to decide right now," Josh interjected. "We still have one week left of work at the Daycare before we decide. Why don't we take some time to think about it?"

"What do you want to do?" Tanner asked.

"I don't know," Josh admitted. "Listening to the two of you argue about it gave me a headache. I don't want to think about anything right now."

That settled the two of them down. Together, the three of them packed their belongings and retrieved their bicycles. The ride from Celadon, through Saffron, and back down to Vermillion carried on in silence. They encountered no unchallenged trainers on the way and stayed clear of the tall grass. The Pokémon Center in Vermillion felt more like home than the one in Celadon for some strange reason. Though the layout of most centers in Kanto were identical, they spent more time here than anywhere in their journey thus far.

Knowing an early day of work awaited them, the three retired early. Rather than curl up next to Caleb and fall asleep on his chest, Josh lay on his back, hands behind his head, and stared up at the ceiling. Wide awake, he relished the silence to ponder the question earlier.

_Where do I go from here?_

Sleep tugged his eyelids down and opened a black velvety curtain into his dreams, vivid and disturbing. He dreamed he stood on the deck of S. S. Anne, the battle between the passengers and Team Specter in full swing. He saw himself, battling with Squirtle back then. Looking up at the soul stone zapping people and Pokémon alike with supernatural energy, he watched as it hit him. When the energy touched him, a thousand memories came flooding back to mind.

He saw a beautiful man in his dreams. Tall and slender, but well-muscled. His face was chiseled to perfection like a marble statue, his skin pale and smooth. Violet eyes smiled between long, flowing silvery hair. In one hand he held the soul stone and the other reached out as if beckoning Josh to take it.

Feet moving of their own volition, Josh walked to meet the summons. After a few steps, however, he stopped, dead in his tracks at the ominous silhouette appearing above and behind the beautiful man. Like shadow and smoke come to life, a Pokémon materialized, darkening the world around it with each passing moment until all grew dark.

Fear gripped Josh's hear as he fell back, trying to slide away. The Pokémon held its hand out and forward, just over the man. It reminded Josh of a puppeteer dangling a puppet from a marionette.

_Life is fleeting, but afterlife is forever, Josh of Pallet Town. Come to me with your weariness and I will bring you eternal rest._

Standing to the left of the beautiful man and underneath the Pokémon, Josh saw his father. He froze, staring in disbelief. He tried to call out to him, to reach him, but he woke up.

As if having lived his entire life underwater, he woke up and sat straight up to take in air by the lungful. Covered in sweat, his heart hammering, he never recalled a dream so vivid. Angry tears stung at the corners of his eyes as he wiped them away. He'd dreamed of his father a hundred times before since he died, but it was always blissful remembering. Seeing his father in the company of the eerie man and ominous, pitch-black Pokémon upset him.

Unable to go back to sleep and worried his dreams might reunite him with his nightmares, Josh sat at one of the tables and tried to learn about effort values. While research was not something he enjoyed, he found a new strategy for training the members of his team yet to be trained. He used his winnings to purchase a fire stone from the Celadon center to evolve Growlithe once he was properly trained.

A smile crossed his face as he quietly left the Pokémon center for the nearest patch of tall grass. The sun had not yet rose and most people were asleep in bed. Dozens of Bellsprout poked around, just waiting to battle. One caught sight of him and attacked.

"Go, Growlithe!"

The Bellsprout smacked his Pokémon with a Vine Whip, but even with the difference in their levels, Growlithe took it in stride.

"Alright, Growlithe! Fire back with an Ember attack!"

It fainted the Bellsprout in one hit as hoped. Josh continued his path through the tall grass, fleeing from anything save for Bellsprout, and choosing only Growlithe to battle. After each victory, Josh fed his Pokémon a puff and showered him with affection.

"We'll get in competitive shape together, Growlithe," Josh said. "Yes, we will! Yes, we will!"

His Pokémon barked happily as Josh rubbed his head between his ears. While he loved his entire team, he felt a quick bond with Growlithe, and the feeling seemed mutual. He still needed to make sure Pidgey received proper training as well. Confident in his competitive team so far, he tried to think of what his sixth member might be.

"We'll worry about that later," Josh decided aloud.

The sun peaked up over the horizon and poured sunlight over the route north of Vermillion. He called Growlithe back to his PokéBall and returned to the Pokémon Center where he found Caleb and Tanner packed and ready to go. The two continued to argue about what the next move would be. It seemed having so many options for which way to go served only as a detriment in the way of disagreement.

Josh kept his mouth shut and focused on his work. They arrived at the Daycare. He took the Water-type Pokémon out to the pond to let them play. After seeing them all fed, he called them back and returned to the aviary. Flocks of Pidgey, Spearow, Pidove, and Hoothoot fluttered around from perch to perch, all calling out their names until Josh filled their feeders. He liked to let his Pidgey out to play with the others, feeling the need to let him socialize with Pokémon like him. He called him back after the aviary and met Caleb and Tanner in the kitchen for lunch break.

"I still think we should check out the Safari Zone first," Tanner said. "I don't how you of all people could disagree with the opportunity to catch exotic Pokémon. Not to mention Cinnabar Island is just a quick ferry ride south from there."

"In time," Caleb replied. "There's a lot of Kanto to see and plenty of Pokémon between here and there. Besides, I'm not sure I'm ready to take on the gym there quite yet. I need to catch and train and strong Psychic type first."

Josh kept quiet and ate his lunch fast. Rather than sit and listen to the two of them fight, he moved to the stalls to let the horse Pokémon out into the pasture. He filled the troughs with feed for the Tauros and Miltank. He got to witness a baby Scyther hatch from an egg and enjoyed that thoroughly. He took a dozen pictures with his camera, planning to send some to his Mom and little brother and to post the rest online.

When their shift ended, Tanner and Caleb continued their friendly debate all the way home. Josh rolled his eyes and buried his nose in his phone, checking to see if his new photos gained him any likes or followers. One comment from AceTrainerKate made him smile.

_Baby Pokémon are trending now. All the rage! Keep posting, love!_

Caleb and Tanner wanted to go hunting for new Pokémon in the area and invited Josh to come with. He declined and told them he didn't feel well. It was a lie. He felt fine but needed a break from their constant bickering. Instead, he decided to take a late afternoon nap and regretted it as soon as he closed his eyes.

Suspended in a black void, Josh wandered aimlessly in a shadowy labyrinth, unable to find his way. He called out for Caleb, hoping his boyfriend would come to his rescue, but no such luck. Instead, he found the pale, beautiful man with silver hair and purple eyes in the center of the maze. Floating above him, a shadowy vortex swirling at the base, was the same pitch-black Pokémon from before.

_Darkrai beckons you, Josh of Pallet Town. You cannot deny your destiny. Come to the Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town. I will reveal to you the mysteries of forever. Together we will peel back the curtain of this world to reveal the truth._

His father appeared again. Instead of standing, this time he knelt, his arms chained to the grown by shadowy bonds.

"Dad!" Josh called out. He rushed forward to come his help, but bright purple lighting from the center of the floating Pokémon lashed out and hit him in the chest.

He awoke with a start, covered again in a sheen of sweat, short of breath, and heart hammering like a war drum in his chest. He looked at the clock to find he slept until the wee hours of the early morning. Tanner and Caleb were asleep beside him. He wiggled quietly from his bed. Having slept in his clothes two nights in a row, he decided it was time or a fresh start. He took advantage of the privacy and moved to the men's room to shower and don fresh clothes.

The hot steamy water relaxed his muscles and the scented soap his mom packed for him reminded him of home. When he reached into his toiletries and found a half empty bottle of his dad's cologne, he burst into tears. He didn't cry long and regain his composure quickly. Something about his father's recurring appearances in his nightmares left him emotional and vulnerable. He spritzed the scent on either side of his neck and took a deep breath. His father wore a masculine, leathery smell that didn't really suit Josh. He rarely wore it, but today he wanted good memories of his dad. He smelled like one of his hugs.

He developed a new routine in his last week of work at the Daycare. Making sure to avoid Caleb and Tanner so as not to get sucked into their argument, he busied himself with his tasks. Early mornings he spent training Growlithe and Pidgey. The effort value research paid off. Growlithe's Bite attack dealt serious damage, and Pidgey's speed improved a little every day.

At night, he dreaded going to sleep, but did it out of necessity. He dreamed again of the violet-eyed man and Darkrai. He dreamed again of his father. Nightmares. Not dreams. Calling him to go through the Rock Tunnel and make his way to Lavender Town. He chuckled when he thought about the idea of suggesting the alternative to Caleb, but Josh knew on their last day of work what needed to be done.

"We should go to Fuchsia!" Tanner insisted.

"Saffron!" Caleb shot back.

This went back and forth for the hundredth time. It no longer bothered Josh as it had become the only conversation between them. He padded the ground in front of him with the toe of his shoe, refusing to take part in the argument.

"Josh, what do you think?" Tanner said. "Can you help your boyfriend see some sense?"

"I think we should go our separate ways," Josh said.

The two of them looked at him as if he'd said he planned to jump off a bridge. Neither of them could formulate a reply at first. Josh looked back at forth and each of them in turn, letting them know the seriousness of his statement.

"You think we should…part ways?" Caleb asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"For now," Josh clarified. "Tanner can go to Fuchsia and you can train at the Fighting Dojo and then we meet back here in two weeks."

"And where will you go?" Caleb demanded. Josh didn't care for his tone and he felt back that he was about to lie to his face, but he saw no other option.

"I'm going to go back to Pallet Town to visit Mom and Nick," Josh replied. "I miss them and I think they'd enjoy a visit." The tears collecting in the corners of his eyes were real, but not for the reasons the others assumed.

"Maybe Josh is right," Tanner said.

Caleb walked over and wrapped him in a big hug.

"I think a visit home would be the perfect thing for you."

"Yeah," Josh agreed…or pretended to anyway.

The next morning the three of them stood outside the Pokémon Center in Vermillion City, bags packed and staring each other down, unsure of how to say goodbye. The past few weeks the three of them spent night and day with one another. The idea of venturing off by themselves created a certain sense of unease.

"Well," Caleb said. "I guess this is goodbye for now."

Josh gave both the biggest hug he could muster, told Caleb he loved him, and turned north like he was going back through Cerulean City and Mount Moon to get to Pallet Town. When he reached Cerulean City, however, he veered east and followed the route all the way to the mouth of the Rock Tunnel. It looked like a chasm descending into Hell and he was about to set off alone.

_Not alone,_ he remembered. He reached down and touched the PokéBalls hanging from his belt and remembered he trained a team of powerful creatures to come to his aid should the need arise. He made sure to buy Super Potions, Repel, and an Escape Rope should the need arise. He thought of Caleb when he remembered the Escape Rope. Though he missed him already, Josh remained resolute in his decision.

_Ready or not, Lavender Town, here I come._


	18. Lavender Town

—**18—  
**_Lavender Town_**  
****JOSH**

The sunlight pouring in from outside the entrance faded with each passing step as Josh descended into Rock Tunnel. The stone underfoot had been worn smooth from years of spelunkers walking the path. To his left and right, stalagmites and stalactites stretched out in points as if to reach one another. He clicked on his flashlight, admiring the rock formation as he reached the first ladder to descend. The _clang-clang-clang_ of his feet against the iron rungs resounded through the chamber in a steady rhythm. Thirty feet below, he saw the swaying glow of head lamps from other people braving the cave.

_At least I won't be all alone._

He felt a wave of relief when his feet touched down on solid ground once more. Mount Moon had been scary, especially when they were attacked a horde of angry Zubat, but Tanner and Caleb stood right by his side back then. Now, whatever danger he encountered, he stood alone.

_You can do this. You're the Junior League Champion! Start acting like it_.

With a deep breath, he turned up his nose, puffed up his chest, aimed his flashlight at his feet, and marched forward. He let the air out in a gasp, having forgot to keep breathing, but recovered his equilibrium in short order as he proceeded along the path. He stifled a shriek when a wild Zubat flew past his face. He swatted at it like a fly and it continued its flight path into the dark expanse of the cave.

Curious, he paused for a moment to retrieve his PokéDex and check what kind of wild Pokémon inhabited Rock Tunnel. Nothing struck his fancy, but he thought it might prepare him for which Pokémon to train. If Growlithe had learned Play Rough, he'd make quick work of the Machop and Mankey Josh might encounter, but his Pokémon still had a long way to go. A move tutor might have been able to teach him Thunder Fang to deal with the Zubat and gain some Speed, but he had yet to encounter one.

He let out a sigh in a puff and decided not to worry about effort values right now. In a few short weeks, he learned more about what it meant to be a Pokémon trainer than he ever dreamed. Now, he knew so much more waited to learn. Breeding Pokémon with the appropriate individual values, proper nature and characteristic, egg moves, abilities, and effort values…the more he thought about it, the more the thought he might need to breed and train an entirely new team to prepare for the kind of competition waiting for him on Victory Road the Indigo League. Some trainers competed years for a place in the quarter finals.

_You can't lose if you don't quit._

Caleb's words echoed in his mind. He smiled, missing his boyfriend already. Part of him wished they stood side-by-side, but Caleb would never agree to go to Lavender Town after what happened. And if he found out what Josh was doing…Josh chuckled. Overprotective to a fault, his boyfriend would tackle and physically restrain him if need be. Even love could be inconvenient at times.

Josh tucked his PokéDex away in his bag and continued tiptoeing the path. When a wild Pokémon attacked, he chose his battler based on strategy now. Pidgey made quick work of Mankey and Machop. Blastoise blew Geodude and Onix away with Water Pulse. And the Zubat could not abide Espeon's Psybeam. Sometimes he switched Growlithe or Pidgey in to get some battle experience, but never let them finish a fight. He didn't want them fainting and he didn't have any Revives with him.

Hours flashed by in what seemed an instant. Trainers he encountered posed little threat against his team, and even after they paid were kind enough to point him in the right direction. One hiker named Brian offered him some granola bars. Josh's growling stomach betrayed his hunger and he happily accepted.

"How long is Rock Tunnel?" Josh asked.

"Miles," Brian replied. "I don't know how many for sure. Did you come from Cerulean?" Josh nodded. "Well, kiddo, you the good news is you're more than halfway to the entrance near Lavender Town."

"That's a relief."

"What business you go there?" Brian inquired. "You're not looking to join Team Specter are you?" Josh shook his head. "Well, that's good. Those folks are up to no good, I tell you. Someone ought to stop them."

_Maybe I will._

"Someone should," Josh said instead. "Thanks for the granola bar, and for the battle."

"No worries, kiddo! Safe travels."

An underground labyrinth with multiple levels connected by ladders stretched on for another couple of miles. Josh continued to strategically choose his Pokémon and never ran into a threat. He supposed, with as many as he encountered, he should have been catching some. Then again, he deliberately left Vermillion with only five in his party—the ones he planned to take to the League. Oddish, Clefairy, and Butterfree were great Pokémon, but none were the sixth member he envisioned for his team. He figured he might catch the sixth one on his way to Lavender Town, but Rock Tunnel Pokémon held no appeal.

Some gut feeling told him when the right Pokémon crossed his path, he'd know. Until then, his party of five provided all the support he needed. Proud of himself by the time he reached the end of Rock Tunnel, he still found himself missing Tanner and Caleb. The two made for entertaining company if nothing else.

"Wow!" he exclaimed, stepping out of the mouth of the cave and into the outdoors. With no streetlights on the route and having emerged at night, the stars above glittered like diamonds in a dark blue sky. It took all day to get through the tunnel. He looked around and found the area deserted. With rumors of Team Specter having taken over the entire town, he didn't dare venture to find the Pokémon Center. Instead, he made camp outside the mouth of the cave.

Taking care to administer Super Potions and Ethers to the Pokémon who needed them, he brought each out in turn to spend some time with them. He spent more time with Growlithe than any of the others, and even let him sleep next to him outside his ball. He figured having a guard dog keep watch over him while he slept couldn't hurt. The lumpy ground was uncomfortable, but sleep found Josh soon enough.

He slipped once more in the black void surrounding him from all sides. Rather than wander a maze to find his way, he found himself in the center. This time, however, the violet-eyed man and Darkrai were nowhere to be found. Instead, he found a Clefable glowing like the moon in the middle. Its shadow, however formed the shape of a Gengar.

"Dad?" Josh called out in his dream. No response. His father had been a Pokémon trainer of some notoriety before he died. Clefable had been the only companion with him at the time and perished in the accident with him.

Josh reached to his belt for a PokéBall but all them were gone. About this time, he realized he was in a dream and his mind forced him awake from the discomfort of not being in control. Luckily, he didn't wake up with a start or in a sheen of sweat. He opened his eyes and remained still, Growlithe still cuddled up next to him. Though nervous to dream again and usually the type not to go to bed after he woke, he closed his eyes and fell asleep once more.

As he suspected, he returned to the black void and stood face-to-face with the half-Clefable-half-Gengar Pokémon in the center. He met eyes with it and waited. The Pokémon lifted its arm and pointed to a door at the edge of the circular chamber. Josh walked to the solid oak door, turned the handle, and opened it to fall into a memory.

"Boys!" his mother called from the porch. "Time for dinner."

It was daytime and Josh stood back in Pallet Town. He watched from a distance as younger versions of Josh and Nick played in the yard. Josh was bouncing a tennis ball off Nick's head, pretending it was a PokéBall and his brother a Pokémon.

"Okay, Nick," young Josh said. "Now, you have to do what I say! Look! A wild Dad has appeared! Use Tickle attack!"

Josh watched as his little brother charged at a man he'd not seen in years. Emotion clutched at his heart as he beheld his father. Tall, strong, and smiling. In play, he feigned to fall from the attack.

"It was super-effective!" his dad said. "I'm no match for the two of you."

His dad stood and scooped young Nick and young Josh up, one under each arm, and marched them into the house. Josh stood outside the fence as they entered. When he thought to follow, his body teleported inside the house to find the family sitting down for dinner. Time passed in fast forward, like watching a video online. Josh stood unnoticed by the rest of his family as he observed.

The phone rang and his father moved to answer it.

"Hello? This is he. I understand. No, sir, you can count on me."

His father put the phone back on the receiver.

"Who was that?" Josh's mother inquired.

"I'll tell you later," his father replied. "Boys, finish up your desert and get ready for bed. I'll come and tuck you in."

Soon Josh's parents stood alone, leaning against the counters on the kitchen, the tension between them palpable.

"You promised you'd stay here with your family," his mother said.

"I promised to protect the soul stone too," his father countered. "If it's not safe, Kanto isn't safe—the _world_ isn't safe."

"I thought you said you took care of it."

"I hid it some place I thought he'd never find it," his father replied. "I should have destroyed it when I had the chance. I never thought he'd use it to…"

His mother reached out and took his father's hand in hers. He looked to meet her eyes. Sadness mingled with love pervading their expressions.

"You put your faith in someone who turned out not to be who they said they were," she assured. "You did what you thought was best at the time. You're doing what you think is best now. I don't like it, but I understand it. Promise me you'll come back."

"I promise," his father said.

Josh awoke with a start. His sudden movement scared Growlithe and sent him to on the lookout for a trespasser, barking wildly. Josh reached out and stroked his flank, shushing him and bringing him to lay down next to him once more. After his Pokémon settled down, Josh contemplated his dream, pondering its meaning. He asked his mother about dreams once and she explained they remained a medical mystery. Different doctors and scientists posed theories to explain, but none knew for sure. This didn't seem like a normal dream but rather a glimpse into the past.

"Clefable pointed me to the door," Josh remembered aloud. "It's like he wanted me to see." His thoughts swirled in his mind like a whirlwind, the most disturbing detail being his father's connection to the soul stone. While the dream did not expressly say it was the same one, Josh's gut told him this was no coincidence.

He looked up at the sky to find the sun peaking its way up from the horizon. Much as he wanted to sleep, dream, and learn more, he knew he would never be lucky enough to fall asleep again. Instead, he reached into his back for some PokéPuffs and went through the routine to feed and give attention to each of his Pokémon. When it came time for Growlithe to go back in his ball, Josh changed his mind.

"Would you like to walk beside me instead?"

"Grooooowwwlithe!"

"I thought you might like that idea," Josh said with a smile. "Alright, come on. It's several miles south from here to Lavender Town."

Together, they started the downhill hike to Lavender town. A populous region like Kanto usually had trainers wandering about everywhere in search for a battle, but not a soul in sight. The tower came into view, stories higher than all the other structures in the town. Josh stopped in his tracks, gasping. Dark swirling shadows encircled the top of the tower, the sky darkening around it. Surges of purple lightning discharged in sporadic bright flashes as a chill of foreboding itched up and down Josh's spine. Growlithe let out a low growl.

"I know, boy," Josh said, patting his head. "I don't like it either."

_It's not too late to turn back._

Caution told Josh he had no business coming to Lavender Town alone. His search for answers concerning his connection to the soul stone led him to shadows from his past. More invested than ever, he swallowed his fear and kept marching until he reached the bottom of the hill where Lavender Town had been established.

A dense fog enveloped the town, cutting visibility. Things moved in the shadows, but not people. As near as Josh could tell, Ghost-type Pokémon ran rampant around here. The thought crossed his mind to call out to see if anyone answered, but he figured attracting attention might work to his disadvantage. Instead, he found the Pokémon Center. The hydraulic double doors opened for him as he neared the threshold, but he found it empty. No nurse behind the counter. No traveling trainers doing research or taking a break. Nothing. He moved on to other nearby houses. Some of the doors were locked, but opened ones led him to the same discovery.

_It's a ghost town…literally._

A wild Gastly attacked, but Growlithe fainted it in one shot with his Bite attack. Josh remembered Ghost-type were weak to Dark-type moves and figured he made the right choice by choosing Growlithe.

Josh stayed hidden in the house for a while, very still. For a moment, he considered calling Growlithe back to his ball, but wanted a protector ready should the need arise. He moved to the window on the north side of the house. It offered a perfect view of the Pokemon Tower, stabbing into the sky like a fist from the earth. Hoping to witness a member of Team Specter come or go, maybe learn how many were in there—anything except go in blind.

_You must confront them,_ he told himself. _You'll never know peace until you do. You have your Pokémon with you; trust in them._

"Are you ready, Growlithe?" Josh asked.

"Groooowwwwll!"

"Okay, here we go."

Together they left the house via the front door on the south. Rounding the building they stood in line with the entrance as the proceeded. Wide stairs led to heavy oaken double doors propped open to allow entry. Torches line the walls as Josh entered a room with a reception desk in the back-right corner. Surrounding the room, brass plaques on the walls to commemorate lost Pokémon companions over the years.

The dense fog from outside flooded into the room. Wild Ghost-type Pokémon levitated around the room. In the shadows, the Gastly and Haunter became complete invisible. In the flicker of the torchlight, their ominous silhouette passed. Their cries rose up in a symphony of ghostly moans.

"Gaaastly!"

"Haunt! Haunt!"

Josh called Growlithe to heal and proceeded through the first room. Tiptoeing so as not to grab the attention of the nearby Pokemon, Josh moved with stealth to reach the first staircase. Surprised he made it without being detected, he moved forward to start his ascent and found the way barred.

"Hey, kid! What do you think you're doing here? You can't be here! The boss is about to start the ritual!"

The Team Specter grunt wore a cosplay of Cofagrigus. His hood looked like a Pharaoh hat, long strips of black cloth dangling from his sleeves to imitate the Pokémon's arms. The grunt reached for a PokéBall at his belt and hit the button. Tossing it forward, the Pokémon Cofagrigus emerged, its ethereal arm shadows bursting from within a sarcophagus.

"Get out of my way!"

"You got a lot of nerve, kid!" the grunt shot back. "Get lost!"

"Growlithe, go!"

And the battle for Pokémon Tower began.


	19. The Battle for Pokémon Tower

—**19—  
**_The Battle for Pokémon Tower_**  
****JOSH**

"Growlithe, use Bite!"

Josh's loyal Pokémon companion rushed forward to sink its teeth into the enemy Cofagrigus. The hit was super-effective, but the high-defense Pokémon took the hit in stride. Strips of cloth materialized as soon as Growlithe made contact, stripping him of his Intimidate ability and replacing it with Mummy.

"Cofagrigus, use Disable!"

A sinister sneer appeared upon the grunt's face. Josh knew better than to try the attack again. Taking away his biggest advantage was smart however Bite was not the only attack in Growlithe's arsenal.

"Follow up with a Fire Fang!" Josh commanded. Growlithe howled as if letting out a battle cry and charged forward to sink his teeth in. While the hit was direct, Cofagrigus's defense proved formidable.

_I have five Pokémon and he has one,_ Josh remembered. _If Growlithe can't handle it alone, I'd love to see him take on Blastoise._

"Cofagrigus, use Night Shade."

The direct damage attack took a greater toll on Growlithe than Josh expected. Rather than risk him fainting Josh decided it was time to change it up.

"Growlithe, return! Go, Espeon!"

"Cofagrigus, use Night Shade!"

It was a risky move, Josh knew, throwing out a Psychic-type Pokémon in front of a Ghost-type, but the attack used dealt fixed damage and he bet on Espeon being able to survive the attack and won.

"Espeon, use Psybeam!"

The beam of psychic energy hit Cofagrigus and fainted him. The grunt called back his Pokémon and stood aside. Even after suffering defeat he wore a victorious sneer. Josh worried for a moment he might try something else, but surprisingly stood his ground. Something about being at the mercy of a trainer and his Pokémon kept him in place. While against the law to command a Pokémon to attack a human being, Josh would not hesitate with these people.

"Go on then," the grunt said, motioning for the stairs. "You think you have the moxie to take on Team Specter, be my guest. I am the least of my brothers and sisters here today."

_Creep._

Josh called Espeon back, administered a Super Potion to him and Growlithe and hit the stairs in a sprint. As soon as he stepped out on the second floor, two more Team Specter grunts waited to block his path. One of them was dressed like a Chandelure and the other was dressed like a Dusclops. The recurring theme became all too obvious at this point. Josh knew what to expect and prepared his Pokemon accordingly.

"No further!" one grunt said.

"We cannot allow you to interrupt the ritual!"

They both threw out their Pokemon in tandem. A Chandelure and a Dusclops emerged from the balls and took the battlefield. Josh had never done a double battle before but refused to balk in the face of the enemy.

"Blastoise, Espeon, go!"

"Espeon, hit that Chandelure with a Psybeam!" Josh commanded. "Blastoise, follow up with Water Pulse!"

Both of his Pokémon maintained a speed advantage over theirs and attacked first. The Chandelure fainted before it had the opportunity to retaliate, but the untouched Dusclops retaliated.

"Dusclops, hit that Espeon with a Shadow Punch!"

The hit was super-effective and enough to faint poor Espeon in a single hit. Josh called Espeon back and sent out Nidoqueen instead.

"Blastoise, use Water Pulse! Nidoqueen, use Double Kick!"

Blastoise blasted the Dusclops with its Water-type attack. The defensive Pokemon took the hit and stayed standing. Nidoqueen tried to hit it with Double Kick but it failed.

"Amateur! Trying to hit a Ghost-type with a Fighting-type move," one of the grunts scolded. Josh ignored him. "Dusclops, hit Blastoise with a Shadow Punch."

Blastoise scoffed at the attack. Josh smiled. After running into several defensive walls, he was happy to throw one of his own up.

"Blastoise, hit Dusclops with Water Pulse! Nidoqueen, use Bite!"

Dusclops endured the Water Pulse, holding on by a thread, but could not abide the Bite attack from Nidoqueen. The Team Specter grunts called back their Pokémon and stood aside. It seemed strange to Josh neither of them moved upon him physically. Criminals were known for breaking the rules. Then again, his Pokémon were protective enough they might attack of their own volition if the grunts dared move against him.

"Better hurry upstairs, little boy," one grunt said. "The boss is dying to meet you."

This sent a chill down Josh's spine. Some gut feeling told him Team Specter expected him to show up. The same feeling told him this whole thing was a trap to get him to come to Lavender Town and the Pokémon Tower alone.

_It's too late to back down now._

Josh moved past the two grunts. A wild Gengar attacked while he proceeded, but Josh kept running. Usually Pokémon gave up after a while, but this one proved persistent. He administered a Revive and Super Potion to Espeon and called out his Pokémon to meet Gengar in battle. Another surprise followed when the Gengar fled the battle. Josh had heard of some Pokémon doing this, but never a Gengar.

_I have other things to worry about._

He didn't make it to the staircase leading to the next level before Gengar appeared again. Only able to say its name in its cry, it seemed to want Josh's attention. He called Espeon out again to face it in battle and yet again the Gengar disappeared.

"What is going on here?" Josh asked aloud. "Espeon, return."

The Gengar appeared again. He scratched his head and tried to come up with some sort of conclusion. With its incorporeal body, Gengar moved through him and pointed towards the exit as if trying to get Josh to leave.

"I'm not leaving," he said, "if that's what you're asking."

"Geng! Geng! Gengar!"

"No! I'm not leaving, now go away!"

Gengar proved relentless, circling him endlessly, disappearing and reappearing in front of his face, trying and pleading for him to turn around and leave the way he came. Out of frustration more than anything else, Josh threw a PokéBall at Gengar and missed. It didn't appear again after a while and he continued his journey up the stairs. Another Team Specter grunt stood waiting, this one dressed like Sableye.

"Go, Blastoise!" Josh chose his strongest Pokemon before giving his opponent the chance to say anything. Sableye came out to meet Blastoise in battle. With its Prankster ability it managed to burn Blastoise with Will-O-Wisp before it had the opportunity to fight back. The Water Pulse knocked out the Sableye in one hit.

"Nice try," Josh said to the grunt. He administered a Burn Heal to Blastoise and proceeded to the next floor. Every few steps a wild Gastly attacked. Rather than run, Josh kept Espeon handy to blast them with a Psybeam, not bothering to catch even the best among them. Gengar returned to terrorize him as well, refusing to battle and urging Josh to turn around. He ignored the Pokémon's warnings and continued his journey up the tower, battling any Team Specter grunts stupid enough to stand in his path.

_They're no match for me,_ he realized. _Not even close!_

And with each battle his Pokémon grew stronger and his wallet grew fatter. Even the Team Specter grunts respected the rule of paying out prize money. Josh found it interesting to discover they were registered trainers.

When Josh reached the fifth floor of the tower, he encountered a glowing glyph etched on the floor. When he stepped inside it, his Pokémon fully recovered from all damage and statuses. It made him wonder why the Team Specter grunts didn't do the same. It made him wonder why they were battling him one or two at a time instead of trying to overwhelm him. All the things he would do if he were in their shoes and they played by the League rules.

"Geng! Gengar!"

"You again!" Josh protested. "I'm not turning around. You won't let me battle you and you won't let me catch you. I'm here to put a stop to Team Specter and you're in my way."

"Gengar!"

Josh rolled his eyes and kept moving. He made sure to walk through Gengar rather than around it. His calf muscles burned as he moved up what he hoped to be the final staircase leading to the top of the tower. His relief was short-lived, however. At the top of Pokémon tower, he found a group of Team Specter grunts standing in a circle surrounding a glyph etched into the floor. Rather than glowing with white light, this one had been etched in paint so black it seemed to suck the light out of the room.

Standing in the center of the dark glyph was a man Josh recognized from his dreams. Standing in violet-eyed, silver-haired magnificence and wearing ghostly purple robes was the man in Josh's nightmares as of late. Floating above him, glowing with faint lavender energy was the soul stone.

"Hey, kid!" one of the grunts said. "You can't be here! You'll interrupt the ritual!"

"Leave him be."

The voice came from the man standing in the center, obviously a Team Specter boss. Maybe _the_ boss. All the grunts stood their ground awaiting further orders. The violet-eyed man looked at Josh and offered a smile.

"I'm here to put a stop to…whatever it is you're doing here," Josh announced.

"So much like your father," the violet-eyed man replied. "So much promise and talent as a trainer and yet your mind is so closed to the prospect of making this world a better place. How would you like to be reunited?"

"Reunited?" Josh inquired, confused. His dad was dead, but he listened as the violet-eyed man continued.

"Just because my methods are unorthodox, the result will bring about a new era for mankind and Pokémon alike. With the soul stone, I can peel away the invisible curtain between the living and the dead. No longer will we have to suffer the indignity of grieving over our lost loved ones. I will tear remove the veil to create a brave new world. And you're going to help me."

"I don't think so," Josh shot back. "I came to stop you."

"I know you have. I've seen your intentions in the dreams we shared. Forgive me! Where are my manners? My name is Damien and I am the leader of our coven. The world has taken to calling us Team Specter…a fitting name I supposed, but that's neither here nor there. You've proven your worth as trainer twice over now, and what more, you're the missing piece to the puzzle."

"What are you talking about?" Josh demanded. "Missing piece!"

"Come," Damien beckoned. "Join me in the circle and with our combined powers we will perform the seance necessary to bring Darkrai back from the dead."

"Powers?"

"Yes," Damien replied. "You see, I'm a medium; I can commune with the spirits of the dead. My connection with Ghost-type Pokémon gives me an edge in battle few opponents can contend with. I was probably the most powerful medium in the world…until you came along that is."

"Me? No. You're wrong. I don't have powers. I can't commune with the spirits of the dead."

"You're wrong, Josh," Damien insisted. "The soul stone chose you. All this time I was trying to do what only you could. You're still young, your powers newly manifested, but in time, I can show you how to harness your powers."

Damien's feet left the ground as he levitated a foot off the ground. He stretched his hand forward and shadow energy collected in a familiar fashion. Josh had seen plenty of Pokémon use Shadow Ball to recognize it. How a human being managed to use a Pokémon ability baffled him. The glyph below Damien glowed with purple light as a vortex of spirits appeared, illuminated by the light of the soul stone.

"Join me, Josh," Damien pressed. "Don't you want to see your father again?"

He did. More than anything in the world he longed to have his father back alive and well. The prospect of special powers intrigued him too. If Damien spoke true, it would make Josh powerful. Special.

"Geng! Geng!"

The same Gengar pestering Josh while he ascended the tower appeared. Rather than pay any attention to him, the Pokémon fixed its eyes upon Damien offering a Mean Look.

"You again? Stay out of this! Do not deny the boy his destiny!"

Josh stared at Gengar, fixing his eyes upon the Pokémon and listening close to its cry. While his ears heard only its name, his spirit heard something different.

"Stay away from my son!" Clear as day, his father's voice radiated from within the Pokémon. It shot a Shadow Ball at Damien who floated out of the way. The energy hit the wall behind him and discharged. Damien conjured a Shadow Ball of his own and hurled it at Gengar who managed to get out of the way.

"You can't fool me, Damien!" Josh said. "I came here to put a stop to Team Specter and that's what I'm going to do."

"Subdue him," Damien commanded. The Team Specter grunts let out their Pokémon together, six of them in all. Not bothering to follow the rules now, they commanded their companions to use their moves on Josh, but he came to the tower with a team of his own. Faithful in protecting their trainer, his team assembled in a semi-circle in front of him, all standing in the path of his assailants.

The battle raged as Josh called out commands. Breaking the rules in this all-out free-for-all, his Pokémon took initiative to attack at will. Unlike the structured, turn-based battles outlined by the Kanto League, this proved to be a brawl. The three stronger members of his team took the front lines while Pidgey and Growlithe acted as support to the others.

It was over as quickly as it began, Team Specter grunts utterly defeated as they called back their Pokémon and fled, leaving their boss to fend for himself against the enigmatic Gengar. Josh called back his team and watched as the explosive battle raged between man and Pokémon. While Gengar appeared to powerful, it seemed no match for Damien's strange ability to use Pokémon moves. Josh recognized Shadow Ball, Night Shade, Psychic, Hypnosis, and Curse and marveled at Damien's ability.

_He thinks I can do that too…_

When Damien go the upper hand in the battle, using a Shadow Sneak to subdue Gengar Josh decided to intervene. He called out Espeon and moved around the outside of the glyph to keep Damien's back turned. At first, he thought to hit Damien with an attack, but noticed something in his observation.

_He draws his power from the stone._

"Espeon, use Psybeam and target the soul stone!" Josh commanded.

His Pokémon obeyed and a pink beam of psychic energy smashed into the soul stone, severing Damien's connection to it. He cried out in pain and fell to the floor, unable to battle anymore, then turned and looked at Josh. All the welcoming smiles disappeared behind a look of hatred and spite.

"You've won today," Damien admitted, "but, mark my words, you will not deny me. You cannot escape destiny, Josh!"

The soul stone fell from its place above. Damien caught it and disappeared. Josh thought it looked a little like the move Teleport but couldn't be sure. The black glyph on the ground broke into inky pieces and disintegrated until nothing remained. Only the rogue Gengar who stood against Damien remained, prone and fading fast.

"Hold on!" Josh called out. "I'm coming."

He removed his last Super Potion from his bag and administered it to the Pokémon. It's said its name with a tone of gratitude and looked at Josh. Gengar possessed a fearsome reputation for being pranksters. With its ghostly sneer and eyes the color of blood set afire, Josh understood why people feared it seeing it up close.

"Thank you for help me," Josh said. "I know you were trying to get me to turn back, but Damien needed to be stopped."

"Gengar!" the Pokémon agreed.

"You know, I've been on the lookout for a sixth member for my team," Josh said, showing his belt only held five balls. "If you're interested…"

"GENGAR!" it replied excitedly.

"Well, why wouldn't you let me catch you before if you think it's such a good idea?" Josh demanded. "You know what, never mind. Here goes!"

Josh hurled a PokéBall at Gengar. This time, Gengar let the ball make contact and submitted to being reduced to pure energy as it snapped closed. Josh watched as the ball wiggled once. Twice. Three times. And finally came to a standstill. He reached down to pluck the ball from the ground and put it on his belt.

"I'm probably the only trainer in existence to ever catch a wild Gengar with a PokéBall," he thought aloud.

Having accomplished what he set out to do, Josh made the long climb back down the Pokémon Tower. He passed by the blessed zone again to heal up his Pokémon from the battle. Ghosts still haunted the tower, but when he reached the exit and looked over Lavender Town, he found the fog to have subsided. Peace and tranquility filled the void as the clouds parted to let sunshine through once more.

Though Josh knew he hadn't seen the last of Damien or Team Specter, he took pride in the fact he won a victory over them today. And next time they came at him, he'd be prepared for whatever they threw his way.


	20. Rainbowbadge

—**20—  
**_Rainbowbadge_**  
****TANNER**

After Tanner gave Caleb and Josh farewells in Vermillion City, he proceeded north up Route 6. The trainers haunting the roads dared not challenge him having lost to him before and recognizing him as a finalist in the tournament in Celadon. A few of them offered him a friendly nod or salute. A swell of pride from within at his own accomplishments lifted his head and put a strut in his step. Unlike emotional Josh and brooding Caleb, Tanner felt perfectly fine venturing on his own and relished the opportunity to do what he wanted when he wanted.

_No Josh forcing the world to stop spinning on its axis and revolve around him instead,_ he thought, _and no Caleb harping on me to make the responsible decision._

After passing the guard checkpoint at Route 6, Tanner entered the populous Saffron City. He knew the Fighting Dojo rested on the northeast end of town where Caleb would spend the next two weeks studying under the tutelage of expert Fighting-type trainers. Tanner might never swallow his pride to admit to Caleb the opportunity held a certain appeal. It held no candle to the chance of catching exotic Pokémon in the Safari Zone, however. The thought brought a smile to Tanner's face and confirmed he made the right decision. Coveted Pokémon, most found nowhere else in the region lived in great number on the preserve. To be a world-renown breeder, he wanted more experience than the Daycare on Route 5 offered.

_I'll have a Daycare of my own someday,_ Tanner thought. _No! Better yet, I'll have a Safari Zone of my own. Maybe in an undiscovered region._

He rode his bike west on the southernmost road before veering north to hit the guard checkpoint to Route 8. The trainers here left him alone as well, all having lost to him on his way to or from the tournament. Similar recognition followed. One Youngster even mustered the courage enough to call out to him.

"Hey, Tanner! Off to the Celadon Gym?"

"You bet I am! After that, I'm going to the Safari Zone in Fuchsia!"

The Youngster and his friends marveled at him as if having encountered a hero or idol. Tanner felt like no hero or idol but liked the attention well enough. Perhaps without the likes of JosherXD and AceTrainerKate around to steal the limelight, Tanner might gain a fan base of his own. Much as he liked the idea, if it proved to stand as a distraction or obstacle to his main goal, it must be set aside.

Celadon City appeared before him as he passed the checkpoint. Not so crowded as his last visit, people still hustled across the street from place to place. He slowed his roll and ventured south to find the gym. A creepy old man stood outside the entrance, peering into the windows. Tanner parked his bike at the rack and approached.

"So many beauties!" the man exclaimed. "Makes me wish I were a trainer like, young man, if you know what I mean."

In his sixties by the look of him, Tanner raised an eyebrow. Having parted ways with his filters in Vermillion City, he spoke without reserve.

"I think these young ladies don't appreciate a creepy old man lurking outside their door. The fact you refer to them as beauties is disgusting and reprehensible. I'd tell you to go home to your wife, but, from the looks of you, you probably have lived your entire life the way you're going to die, old man: alone. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a badge to earn."

The old man harrumphed as Tanner crossed the threshold, ignoring him. Once inside, Tanner looked wide-eyed at an expansive and beautiful greenhouse. The spectacle of bright flowers and exotic plants more than made up for the stifling heat and humidity. He walked the path, stopping to admire the display, reading a few of the signs.

"You there!" a voice called. "Boy!"

Tanner bristled and turned. A young woman in her early twenties stood at the end of the path. Her long blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders in loose curls. Dressed in a colorful kimono, her Geisha-style makeup flawless in its presentation, her expression remained one of disdain.

"Hey there," Tanner replied, and then added, "Girl!"

"What did you call me? How _dare_ you! That's it! We're battling. Right here, right now, let's go!"

"You're on! I'll have you know I defended your entire sex against the creeper hanging outside the gym and peering in the window. The only reason I called you "Girl" is because you called me "Boy" first. Equality is equality or otherwise it's a double-standard."

"You've got a big mouth on you," the young woman shot back. "I hope you can back up all that sass in a Pokémon battle."

"You're about to find out," Tanner said. "Ladies first"

"Go, Gloom!"

"Charmanda, let's show her who she's dealing with!"

The Pokémon hit the narrow battlefield on the path of the greenhouse. Tanner worried he might singe the nearby plants, but sometimes collateral damage occurred in battle. He planned to hold nothing back.

"Charmanda, use Smokescreen!"

Belching fire instead of smoke, his Pokemon cut visibility to avoid attacks.

"Gloom! Poisonpowder!"

As hoped, the attack missed.

"Charmanda, Fire Spin!"

The super-effective hit failed to faint Gloom in a single shot, but Tanner kept faith in it only lasting another round.

"Gloom, use Poisonpowder!"

This time the attack hit its mark, inflicting the poison status to poor Charmanda. Tanner packed enough Antidotes to last him a lifetime, knowing full well Grass-type trainers loved their powder moves. After all, he trained a Weepinbell of his own.

"Charmanda, finish this fight with an Ember attack!"

This time, the hit fainted Gloom. Just as the smoke cleared, the opponent trainer called back her Gloom to announce her next Pokemon.

"Weepinbell, go!"

"Chamanda, use Ember!" Tanner commanded. He pumped his fist when the critical hit fainted the opposing Pokemon in a single shot. Charmanda took two rounds of poison damage, but not enough to take her out of the game. This marked his opponent's last Pokémon and an end to the fight. While she forked over some prize money, Tanner administered an Antidote and a Super Potion to keep Charmanda in fighting shape. He knew walking in she would be the star of the show and lead him to an easy victory.

"Sorry about earlier," the young woman said. "We get so many creeps here, I just assumed you were a peeping Tom having wandered in to make eyes at us."

"With all due respect, Miss, I don't even like girls," Tanner shot back. "Don't get me wrong; I don't _dislike_ girls either. I don't know what I like, to be honest. Let's just leave it at this: I'm not a creep. I'm a Pokémon trainer here to challenge Erika for a Rainbowbadge."

"Glad to hear it," the young woman replied. "Erika's much more challenging than me. You got yourself a powerful Fire-type Pokémon, but I wouldn't bank on that alone."

Tanner lifted his shirt enough to show her the other PokéBalls hanging from his belt. Inside, Farfetch'd, Dratini, Umbreon, Pikachu, and Weepinbell waited. With his prize money from the tournament, Tanner purchased a Thunder Stone and a Leaf Stone, but after doing some research (at Caleb's urging) he decided to wait until his Pokémon learned a few more moves before evolving them. Some Pokémon, particularly those evolved with stones, stopped learning new techniques after evolving and Tanner wanted his team to have access to their full arsenal.

"I came prepared," Tanner replied.

His opponent gave a respectful curtsy and motioned for him to move past her and continue his journey the greenhouse gym. Only female trainers resided within, and Tanner wondered if anyone ever complained about sexism to the Kanto League. He wondered if they allowed male trainers at all, or if none had ever applied.

_I'm not here to be a proponent of social justice_, he reminded himself. _Today, I'm here to win a badge._

It bothered his conscience not a bit to defeat the nonsense out of the women of Celadon gym. He made sure to let out Farfetch'd to take on some of the lesser challenges since its attacks were super-effective as well. Tanner gave Dratini a turn in battle when he could too. Dragon-type Pokémon took _forever_ to train and every little bit of experience helped.

When at last he stood before the beautiful and famous Erika, Tanner stood proud and ready to battle. Dressed in her signature green kimono, a red hairband holding back her shoulder-length black hair, she stood waiting on a grass field in the center of the greenhouse. Even in her mid-thirties, Erika possessed beauty women coveted, and youth to match. She might pass for early twenties in the right light. She greeted him with a smile.

"Hello, trainer. My name is Erika and I am the gym leader here at Celadon City, but by the look on your face, you know who I am."

"I sure do!" Tanner said. "I watched you compete in the Kanto League for a position as one of the Elite Four last year. You and your Grass-type team were magnificent. I'm a big fan."

"That's very flattering," she replied. "You're here for a Rainbowbadge, I know, and I'm to understand you've collected three badges already, yes?"

"That's right," Tanner replied. He reached for his badge case and opened it for her to see. She nodded in admiration.

"Three badges, I see, but you were the boy who placed third in the Junior League qualifiers, yes?"

"You saw my match," Tanner beamed. "Yeah, that was me."

"Excellent. Normally I reserve a team of three for trainers with three badges, but I'm not going to take it so easy on you. You look a trainer with fire in your eyes who relishes a challenge. It's technically against the rules, but I won't tell if you won't…unless you're afraid…"

"I'm not afraid of anything," Tanner interjected. "Bring on your challenge. I was _this close_ to becoming the Junior League Champion. I'm ready for whatever you throw my way."

"I'm so glad to hear you say that," Ericka replied. "Don't be deceived by my sweet demeanor, however. I'm a lady through and through, but I'm also a fierce competitor and one hell of a trainer. I'll do everything in my power to win."

"I expected nothing less. Let's do this."

"Go, Tangela!"

"Charmanda, I choose you!"

"A Fire-type Pokemon," Erika observed aloud. "A powerful one at that. Show me what you can do!"

"Charmanda, use Fire Spin!"

His Pokémon unleashed swirling flames to barrage and surround the enemy Tangela. In response, the Tangela consumed a berry of some sort to protect it from the super-effective damage. Tanner had heard of these berries before, Occa berries if his memory served him. The first trainer he met told him true; Erika was a trainer of high caliber.

"Tangela, Sleep Powder!"

Charmanda fell asleep. Tanner's heart lurched. He administered an Awakening to his Pokémon, knowing full-well it would cost him a turn. Tangela took the extended damage from Fire Spin in stride.

"Tangela, use Bind!"

The attack hit three times, binding Charmanda in vines.

"Counter that with an Ember!" Tanner commanded. Even after taking damage for one round and without the assistance of a berry to dampen the blow, Tangela held strong.

"Tangela, Sleep Powder!" Ericka commanded.

Charmanda fell asleep once more. Tanner growled in frustration and considered the dilemma. Back and forth with this cycle and Charmanda would emerge victorious, however, not after depleting its energy. He needed her to stay in the game for the whole battle. Originally, he planned to let Farfetch'd carry some of the load, but he was outclassed against her well-trained Grass-type titans.

"Charmanda, return! Go, Umbreon!"

"Tangela, use Sleep Powder!"

_She loves that move…_

Umbreon fell asleep, but its Synchronize ability dragged Tangela unconscious with it. Both trainers struggled to get their Pokémon awake, creating a coin toss as to which one came to first.

"Umbreon, use Pursuit!"

"Tangela, return!"

In a stroke of luck, Umbreon woke up in time to land the attack, getting the bonus damage since Erika decided to call back her Pokémon. She didn't seem too phased by it, however.

"Jumpluff, go!"

Tanner had never heard of nor encountered a Jumpluff before. He knew to expect a Grass-type Pokémon and it looked like one but remained unsure about what to expect otherwise.

"Jumpluff, use Leech Seed!" Umbreon was seeded.

"Umbreon, use Confuse Ray!" Jumpluff was confused. It munched down a Persim berry in response, curing it of its confusion. Tanner offered Erika wry expression, wondering how she could have predicted something like that. She shrugged and returned her attention to the battle.

"Jumpluff, use Giga Drain!" Her Pokémon absorbed Umberon's energy.

"Umbreon, use Payback!" Tanner commanded. Umbreon's low speed stat worked to his advantage, especially with attacks like this. He smashed into Jumpluff with a vengeance, not enough to faint it, however.

"Jumpluff, use Giga Drain!" Jumpluff used Umbreon's energy to restore itself once more.

"Umbreon, use Last Resort!" Umbreon's retaliatory attack fainted Jumpluff.

"Jumpluff, return! Go, Tangela! Use Vine Whip!" Her Tangela barraged Umbreon with its vines, doing a fair bit of damage even with his high defense stat. Not enough to faint him, however, and that was all that mattered now.

"Umbreon, push through! Let's see another Last Resort!"

That attack proved enough to faint her Tangela too. Tanner never saw Erika's expression waver from the intense smile on her face. Every moment of this battle was pleasure to her and she relished the challenge.

"Tangela, return! Go, Bellossom! Use Petal Dance!"

A whirlwind of leaves and flowers came at Umbreon in a barrage, enough to faint him.

"Umbreon, return! Go, Weepinbell!"

"So, you're a Grass-type trainer too," Erika beamed. "You continue to impress me, Tanner from Pallet Town." She didn't have to issue a command, Bellossom continued its Petal Dance attack. Even though it was a powerful attack, it did almost nothing to Tanner's Pokémon who resisted Grass-type attacks.

"Weepinbell, spray Bellossom with Acid!" the hit was super-effective. Locked in its Petal Dance, Bellossom executed it one more time and suffered confusion as a result.

"Weepinbell, continue with Acid!" The hit was super-effective, but not enough to faint Bellossom, and to add injury to insult, it consumed a Sitrus berry and recovered some of its health.

_Keep at it; you're wearing her down and you haven't even brought out the big guns yet._

"Bellossom, use Sunny Day!" the move altered the field, letting in the sunlight from the glass windows above. Tanner smiled, hoping to use this to his advantage.

"Weepinbell, one more Acid ought to do it!"

Bellossom fainted and Erika called her Pokémon back, ready to unleash her final contender. Tanner used the opportunity to make the switch.

"Weepinbell, return. Go, Charmanda!"

"Go, Victreebel! Use Razor Leaf!" The attack was not every effective, but Tanner was disturbed to find her Pokémon had the speed advantage. He rarely squared off against Pokémon who could outclass Charmanda's speed.

"Charmanda, use Ember!" Her Solar Power ability and the harsh sunlight boosted the attack more than Tanner expected. The hit was devastating and fainted Erika's heavy hitter in a single blow. Tanner cheered, ready to go and congratulate Charmanda when something magical happened…something Tanner had waited a long time for.

"Looks like your Charmeleon is evolving," Erika announced.

Over the span of about twenty seconds, Charmanda evolved from Charmeleon into a Charizard. Sprouting wings, tripling in size and strength, Tanner beheld the combined power of Fire and Flying he'd been waiting on since he chose her as his starter back in Pallet Town.

"I'm so proud of you, Charmanda!" Tanner beamed.

"Char!" When she roared, a jet of fire projected out in an impressive torrent. Tanner thought his eyebrows might have been singed, but he didn't care. He ran to Charmanda and wrapped her up in a hug.

"You have a strong bond with your Pokémon, and you are far ahead of your peers in power," Erika said. "It's my pleasure to present you with a Rainbowbadge for your victory over me in a Pokémon battle."

She held out a league badge in the shape of a multi-colored flower. Tanner accepted with gratitude and added it to his box. One. Two. Three. Four. Halfway there. Even though he prequalified for a place in the Indigo League this year, he made up his mind to get all eight Kanto League badges. What better way to prepare for the best of the best than to square off against the most powerful gym leaders in the region?

"Thank you, Erika," Tanner said. "You're a cut above the other gym leader's I've faced so far and easily the most difficult challenger I've battled for a badge."

"That's no surprise," Erick replied. "Brick has a long way to go before he gains his father's experience. Raina is a hothead just like Misty was, and Dazzler gets too distracted by social media to focus on being a gym leader. I'm a veteran who's been doing this for more than a decade now.

"Expect this and more from Janine when you get to Fuchsia, however. Like her father, she is a ruthless trainer. She's sent many a would-be champion home from her gym in tears."

"Probably from all the Smog," Tanner chortled. Erika chuckled and sent him on his way with a new technical machine to teach his Pokémon, Giga Drain. His Grass-type was attack-based, and he was not sure he would need it, but he kept it nonetheless.

Satisfied with his performance, he wondered how Caleb and Josh faired on their adventures. Neither one of them bothered to battle Erika before they left which meant as far as achieving the goal they set out to accomplish, Tanner pulled ahead in the race.

_Fuchsia City, here I come!_


	21. The Biker Gang on Route 17

—**21—  
**_The Biker Gang on Route 17_**  
****TANNER**

**Route 17 – Bicycle Required Past Beyond This Point**

Tanner read the sign and raised a skeptical eyebrow. The miles long route stretched on in a steady decline leading all the way to Fuchsia City on the southern coast of Kanto. While riding his bike the whole way looked like fun, he didn't see why it was a requirement; any able-bodied person could walk down the hill as well. With a shrug, he decided his impulse to shake things up was just that: an impulse. Besides, he was already on his bike and rode it everywhere he went since receiving the voucher from the owners of the Day Care. Not to mention he'd arrive at his destination much faster this way. Perhaps, if he hurried, he might get a session or two in the Safari Zone today.

With that thought burning in his mind, Tanner mounted his bicycle and started coasting down the road. It was a beautiful late-summer day. Partly cloudy. Not too hot. A cool breeze from the sea came in from the west. Tanner glanced in that direction, realizing if he could fly that Pallet Town west of where he was now. He thought of home from time to time, but never experienced the crippling homesickness Josh claimed afflicted him.

_He's hiding something._

Caleb might have bought his story hook, line, and sinker, but Tanner knew better. He loved Josh like a little brother but knew him well enough and long enough to know when some ulterior motive spurred his actions. Caleb did too, but the poor guy has stars in his eyes when it came to Josh, giving him the benefit of the doubt when he should be calling him out on his nonsense.

_Oh well! I'm not the one dating him._

When Tanner thought about Caleb in his karate gi training with all the meat heads in the Fighting Dojo in Saffron it brought a smile to his face. When he, Josh, and Tanner wrestled back at home Caleb usually won. While shorter than Tanner, he was sturdier and stronger. Even after countless victories in play, he knew Caleb would want to show off his new skills when they reunited and toss Tanner and Josh to the ground countless times.

Tanner's smile turned sad for a moment. While he didn't miss home much, he sure as hell missed Josh and Caleb. The prospect of setting out on his own appealed to him at first, and still held exciting prospects, but the bond they shared left him with a sense of emptiness and unease. For one thing, they were missing out on the bike ride of a lifetime. He let out a long cry of elation as gravity pulled his bike down the hill, accelerating to a velocity to bring him teetering on the edge of fear and ecstasy. With the sun overhead and the wind whipping through his hair, Tanner never felt more alive.

THUMP!

Something jammed the spokes of his front tire, bringing the bicycle to a sudden stop and vaulting Tanner headfirst over the handlebars. Instinctively, he put his hands out in front of him to catch himself. He tumbled painfully across the rough pavement, bouncing painfully off the rock, skinning his knees and elbows to the point of drawing blood. In a painful groan, he pulled himself to his feet, nauseous from the wind being knocked from him and dizzy from hitting his head.

_You should let me buy you a helmet…_

Caleb's voice echoed in his mind. Tanner dismissed it at the time, but now wished he had taken his overprotective friend up on the offer. Turning to see what had caused his accident, expecting a pothole, he found something far more sinister. Six guys on motorcycles surrounded his wrecked bicycle. One of them retrieved a long steel pipe which he apparently had wedged into Tanner's spokes deliberately. Their laughter as they started unzipping his backpack to take his things roused a dark anger in Tanner as he pulled himself to his feet.

"What the hell!"

"You stay right where you are, kid, and this will go easy for you," one of them replied.

"Yeah," another agreed. "We'd hate to have to rough you up."

This caused a round of giggles from the gang of bikers.

"What kind of people are you?" Tanner demanded. "Knocking a kid off his bike! I could have really been hurt. Hey! HEY! Get your hands out of my bag, dude!"

One of the members of the gang threw a PokéBall in response to Tanner's protests. From inside, a Muk appeared. Tanner wrinkled his nose in disgust as the foul stench of the Pokémon invaded his nostrils. Choking and gagging, he backed away as the gigantic sludge monster inched towards him with menace.

"Stay in your lane, twerp, or I'll have Muk swallow you whole."

_Threats. Ugh…I don't deal well with those…_

"How about you call back your Pokemon before I call out mine and barbecue the both of you," Tanner shot back. He tried to sound brave and tough, but his voice came out in strained grunts between gags. You see, he wasn't intimidated, not really, but Muk smelled like a blob of rotten flesh. Unable to resist, Tanner asked, "What have you been feeding your Pokémon?"

"Little boys who got too big for their britches," the biker gang member replied. His posse got a nice round of laughs from his wit.

_Well, this wasn't as entertaining for very long._

"Charmanda," Tanner said, reaching for the first PokéBall on his belt. Pressing the button and tossing it to release his prized companion, she let out a furious roar and a long get of fire upon emerging. Several of the biker gang shuffled backwards in nervous fright. The one with the Muk held his ground.

"Look at what we got here, boys!" he called out to the others. "One of them fancy-pants rich kids who got himself a starter Pokémon from a professor." They laughed and sneered. He turned to Tanner, his expression darkening. "I never had that luxury. You can probably tell I lived my whole life on the wrong side of the tracks. I only have one Pokémon, you see. I found Grimer in the alley behind the apartments where my Pa lived—all alone just like me. I wasn't much older than you when we became friends, and he's been with me ever since.

"You want to settle this with a Pokémon battle? Let's do it! I'm not afraid of your Charizard and neither is Muk. Isn't that right, Muk?"

"Muuuuuuuuuk!"

His Pokémon belched out its name in a reverberating bass that sounded an awful lot to Tanner like a fart. The rancid smell radiating from within was enough to dry up wells and make women barren. Tanner loved Pokémon and considered all of them to be amazing creatures, but right now he was having a hard time appreciating this ball of putrid slime.

"This fancy-pants rich kid also happens to be one of the semi-finalists in the Junior League, thank-you-very-much. Whooping you is going to be the most fun I've had all day!

"Charmanda, use Flamethrower!"

She unleashed a jet of fire, bathing Muk in flames. Acrid black smoke roiled up from the attack, filling the air with the smell of burnt garbage. To Tanner's surprise, the trainer and Pokémon laughed it off.

"You Fire-type trainers kill me," he said. "Hey, Muk. Hit that Charizard with a Sludge Bomb!" Muk hacked up a gigantic purple ball of liquid poison that hit Charmanda with more force than expected. Even without type advantage, the hit proved formidable and inflicted the poison status. Worse yet, his Muk held an item called Black Sludge that let it regain its health every round in battle.

"Charmanda, fire back with Dragon Rage!"

Muk's special defense must have been something insane to scoff away a direct hit from Flamethrower so Tanner decided fixed damage might be the way to go. Muk took the hit in stride though it appeared to work better.

"Muk, let's cut to the chase and hit that Charizard with a Thunderbolt!"

"Wait, what?" Tanner exclaimed. It was too late. His Muk knew Thunderbolt, a surprise to say the least. The super-effective hit brought Charmanda out of the battle. Growling with fury, Tanner called his Pokémon back and prepared his next Pokémon.

"Pikachu, you're up!"

"Keep them coming, little boy!" the biker taunted. "Muk will take them all on!"

"Pikachu, use Dig!" Pikachu burrowed underground.

"Muk, use Acid Armor!"

Pikachu emerged to execute the super-effective hit, but Muk's raised defense allowed it to endure. The Black Sludge contributed to its health once more and opened Pikachu for another attack.

"Muk, Sludge Bomb!"

Soon Pikachu was covered in purple goo and afflicted with poison too. Tanner considered administering an Antidote but knew it would only buy his opponent another free shot with Sludge Bome, something he did not think his Pikachu could endure without fainting.

"Pikachu, use Dig!"

"Muk, Acid Armor!"

The super-effective hit did next to nothing this time and Pikachu took two rounds of poison damage before fainting to another Sludge Bomb.

"Two down," the biker announced. "Four more to go. What else you got, Junior League Semi-Finalist?"

"Pikachu, return!" Tanner said. "Go, Umbreon!"

"Muk, use Sludge Bomb!"

Finally, one of his Pokémon took the hit without taking the status too. Even the Synchronize ability would not have helped him here. Umberon was Tanner's best defensive wall and had all kinds of hurt to deal out.

"Umbreon, use Payback!"

It was not very effective. The type-advantage and raised defense was quickly turning this Muk into a real threat.

_Is this guy going to wipe my entire team?_

"Muk, use Sludge Bomb!"

"Umbreon, Pursuit!"

No damage bonus this time as his opponent was not going to switch out, not to mention the type-advantage and raised defense.

_This is a nightmare_.

"Muk, keep up the good work with Sludge Bomb!"

He'd have to hit Umbreon a few more times to faint him, and luckily he seemed to be able to resist the poison status.

"Umbreon, use Confuse Ray!" Muk took on the Confusion status.

"Muk, use Sludge Bomb!" It hurt itself in its confusion, barely. "You should have led with that. I thought you'd be some sort of ace!"

"Umbreon, shut this down with Last Resort!"

Even the high-powered attack didn't render the kind of damage Tanner needed to faint his opponent. After another Sludge Bomb and a trickle of poison damage, Umbreon finally fainted. This pattern continued with Victreebel, Spearow, and poor Dratini. Try as he might, Tanner's entire team proved no match for one trainer's single Muk.

"Looks like that's that, kid!" the biker said. "Now, if you don't mind, we'll be helping ourselves to your entire inventory."

They robbed him blind, and worse, his bike was a dented mess. Tanner stood there, blood dripping from his knees and elbows, his Pokémon all fainted, and the tears came of their own volition. He wasn't the type who cried when things didn't go his way; that was Josh. This kind of humiliating defeat proved more than he could handle. He cried the whole way to the Fuchsia City Pokémon Center where he handed over his team to the Nurse.

"There, there," the nurse cooed. "We'll have your Pokémon in fighting shape in no time at all."

"That's not it," Tanner replied. He opened his mouth explain further but found himself without words. Rather that suffer any further indignity, he ran to the restroom and washed his face in the sink. Looking at his reflection, he didn't see the trainer he hoped to see. He saw a tall, scrawny, dark-haired boy with puffy red eyes, pitiful and defeated.

While he went back and forth, he was grateful that Caleb and Josh weren't here to see him like this. Then again, if Josh had been there with his Espeon, the battle might have turned out differently. Per League regulations, half of his money went to the biker he battled. He still had plenty of prize money left over to replace the items he'd lost, but he wasn't sure anything would ever heal his wounded pride.

"Tanner!" the voice over the intercom sounded even in the bathrooms. "Your Pokémon are ready! Please come to the counter to collect them."

Sniffing away the last of his snot and tears, Tanner did his best to compose himself as he left the bathroom and collected his team. While he might have run into trouble along the way, he had arrived at his destination. Fuchsia City had everything: mountains, a beach, and a dense jungle-like preserve where wild Pokémon of the exotic variety roamed free. There was even a gym, but Tanner didn't want to think about that. If one biker with one Muk wiped out his entire team in one fell swoop, he shuddered to think what a Poison-type gym leader might do.

_I'm going to need some Psychic-type and Ground-type moves_.

His team had little in the way of defense and retaliation against Poison-type. If Caleb were here, he'd tell him which berries to harvest and his team hold, and which routes were best to catch a good Psychic-type. Tanner flashed back to trying to catch Abra outside Cerulean City and felt the bitter sting of disappointment pang inside his soul once more.

"Hey, kid!" a familiar voice called from across the center. "What's eating you?"

Katie stood there, dressed in her bikini like she was ready for a day at the beach. Despite having one of his most terrible days, he smiled, excited to see his friend. He ran over and gave her a big hug; she returned the embrace and then took him by the shoulders.

"What happened to you?" she asked, inspecting the wounds on his hands, knees, and elbows. No doubt, she caught sight of his wounded ego from across the room too. Tanner spent the next couple of minutes explaining to Katie everything that happened.

"…and that's when you found me here."

"That's awful!" she exclaimed. "We'll give a report to Officer Jenny and I'm sure she'll arrest those punks straightaway."

"That's a good idea," Tanner admitted, not having thought of it already. "Sorry, what you are you doing here? I was so caught up in my own mess, I forgot to ask about you."

"Oh, you know, living the Pokémon trainer's dream," Katie replied. "There's a ferry coming to take me home to Cinnabar Island in a week; it's my great grandad's one-hundredth birthday, and I can't miss it. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the beach, working on my tan, and I was giving serious consideration to hitting up the Safari Zone."

"Me too! I mean, I wanted to take on the gym, but after what happened on Route 17, I don't want to see a Poison-type Pokémon every again. The Safari Zone is the real reason I'm here."

"Makes sense," Katie replied. "You've said since I've known you that you want to have a Pokémon preserve of your own someday. This is a great place to start. Why don't the two of us go together?"

"That'd be awesome!" Tanner exclaimed. "When did you plan to go?"

"Tomorrow," Katie replied. "Today I'm going to enjoy a relaxing day on the beach. I got a couple of sweet fishing rods on loan from the guru here too. I need a reliable Water-type Pokémon to take on Cinnabar Island's gym leader someday, and I need to start training right away. There's all kinds of cool Water-types around the area."

"I don't have a Water-type either," Tanner remembered. "I'd rather have a good Psychic-type to go back and teach that biker punk a lesson."

"Catch a Staryu," Katie suggested. "It learns all kinds of cool Water-type and Psychic type moves and evolves into Starmie."

"Josh always liked Starmie," Tanner said, "and he'll be so jealous if I catch one."

"Even if that doesn't work out, there's Slowpoke and Psyduck to think about too," Katie countered. "All three of those are great choices to do what you need to do."

"Alright!" Tanner said. "Twist my arm a little bit, why don't you? Let's go fishing!"

"First, we're going to get you fixed up," Katie scolded, taking a motherly tone. "You get sea water in those open wounds and you're going to be really sorry. First stop: infirmary. Second stop: the wide-open blue!"

She flashed a dazzling, freckle-faced smile and Tanner felt himself blushing. He wasn't sure he liked girls—or boys—to be honest, he wasn't sure what he liked in that capacity, but he knew one thing. He like Katie an awful lot and he could think of far worse things than spending the day fishing with a pretty girl like her.


End file.
